The Angel Project
by SephiraViteros
Summary: Angel Project, the war of science vs. God...with, as a bonus, freaking SWEET characters. We're gonna start putting stuff up again soon! (posted Friday 13, May 2005)
1. Chapter One

Hey! This is a joint fic between myself and Viteros. Hurrah!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: Neither Viteros, nor myself, own Final Fantasy IX or anything associated with it. Squaresoft (bless thier souls) does. We do have rights to our characters, though.  
  
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Chapter One  
  
A young, brightly colored pair strode through the darkened hallways of the Invincible, their only light the torches that were hung every few meters apart on the walls. One, a young man, talked quietly while the other, a young woman, listened with a slight smile playing on her lips.  
  
The youth was fairly short, only about five and a half feet, with pale skin and he seemed more feminine than masculine. He had wide hips and a slender figure, giving him a girlish look. His eyes were bright blue and shone in his pale face. Long silvery-purple hair fell to his waist and it was cut in layers and at the part in it, three violet feathers stood out, each a different length. Locks of hair fell over his eyes, shading them. He wore little: violet armor with gold trim that seemed to be made of cloth, that only covered his chest. The armor looked as though it had several layers, parts of it fitting closely to him while the rest stood away from his body. His sleeves were made of billowy white cloth that fell to just past his knees. His midriff was bare and all he wore was a thong, the same color as the rest of his ensemble. A black strap held up a long, billowy white piece of fabric behind him that looked almost like a skirt, except it didn't meet in the front. He wore knee high, silver-toed boots and otherwise, his legs were bare.  
  
His companion, the young woman, was less vivid than he, but still cast a commanding figure. She was even shorter than her companion, her head level with his shoulders, with wide hips and a slender waistline. Her skin was as pale, even more so, as his, and her emerald green eyes shimmered in her face. Her cheeks were rosy and her lips were red and full. Long straight silvery-green hair fell to the center of her back, the bangs falling over her eyes, hiding most of her face from view and as he had purple feathers, she had green ones, that, instead of standing straight, fell over her face as did her hair. She wore almost a replica of the young man's ensemble: green armor with silver trim, made of cloth that came down to the center of her ribcage. The armor was of several layers, some fitting close, some standing out from her. Her arms were bare and at the wrists, silver bracelets held on the same billowy type of material that made the youth's sleeves, except on her, the cloth was black. She wore a thong as well, the straps held up by the curves of her waist, and a silver strap held up the long black cloth behind her, the cloth that didn't meet in the front. The green boots she wore came to her knees and they were silver-toed as well. Together, they made an odd couple.  
  
"Are you sure he's there?" she asked in a soft, high-toned voice with a slight accent to it. Her voice had a slight ring of conceit to it.  
  
The young man nodded. "Of course. Do you think that would fail? Is he not strong enough?" the youth replied in a light, slightly lower-toned voice than the young woman. His voice was imperious, with a hint of superiority to it.  
  
"I'm not saying that! On the contrary. What if he wasn't able to find them?"  
  
He smirked at her. "I gave him directions. Do you doubt me?"  
  
"No, Kuja, you know I don't. There's just so much that could go wrong." She frowned slightly. "And why do you think that this plan is flawless?"  
  
"The plan is impeccable because we have left so much room for error. If something does go wrong, we have about thirty other things we could do to rescue it." He glanced at her and noticed that her frown had turned somewhat to a look of shock. "What?" She was staring over his shoulder at something. "Sephira, what is it?"  
  
Taking him by the shoulders, she spun him around and he gasped and stumbled backwards into her and they hit a wall. The girl cried out as he slammed her into the cold, hard metal. Kuja placed his arms around her to the wall and laid his hands flat against it. They stared at the person standing before them with wide-eyed, frightened expressions. The man smiled wickedly at them.  
  
The man was old, with a bald crown and long white hair. His ears were slightly elfish in the sense that they were pointed and his face was wrinkled, his nose long. He wore a full suit of black, metallic armor and a black cape. At the center, at his midriff, there was a large red stone embedded in the black armor and it glowed faintly. His eyes were white, with no pupils, which kept the young pair transfixed on him. Even though he was old, he still cut a commanding figure, tall, strong and withstanding. He crossed his arms and inclined his head slightly to one side, as if deciding what to do with them.  
  
"How much did you hear?" Kuja breathed, his nails trying to dig into the metal of the wall with anxiety. The old man laughed.  
  
"I heard much, though I know not of what it all means. My dolls, are you conspiring against me?"  
  
Sephira cringed and tried to back away. "No. Of course we are not. Why would we be?"  
  
In a flash, the old man had darted forward, shoved Kuja aside and was standing next to the young woman. She tried to sidle away from him, but he caught her arm and held her there. She winced as her eyes flicked back and forth, trying to find a way to escape.  
  
"I sense that you are not being truthful with me, child."  
  
"I—I am... I'm absolutely sincere." She glanced at Kuja, who had stood back up and was leaning with one hand on the opposite wall.  
  
"Completely honest, Garland. Now, leave us be."  
  
"Leave you be?" he asked, releasing the girl, who dashed towards Kuja and hid slightly behind him, shaking, vigorously rubbing her arm, as though repulsed by the touch of the older man. Garland walked towards them as they began to back away. He laughed.  
  
"What pathetic Genomes you are. You cannot even stand up to me. I should have destroyed you when I had the chance." He watched them appraisingly. "But now I suspect you will not give up your souls so readily. You will struggle at least a little for them." He laughed. "Yes, only a little. And at the moment, even though I cannot kill you, I can still hurt you." Even as his words fell upon the two, he had already begun to act.  
  
Taking Kuja by the arm, he flung him into a wall. The young man hit his head and slid to the ground, stunned. Garland grabbed Sephira's shoulders and spun her around, shoving her down to her knees. Hitting her on the back to force her hands to the ground as well, he kicked her in the stomach. She cried out and dropped. Turning back to Kuja, who had struggled to his feet, Garland dashed at the young man, grabbing him by the elbow and deftly breaking his arm. Kuja gasped in pain and threw his other hand to his arm, feeling the bones shift awkwardly. He collapsed to his knees, breathing quickly through clenched teeth. Garland stood between them, laughing.  
  
"That was amusing, was it not?" he remarked before striding away. Kuja looked up at the man's retreating back. He hissed and glared with hatred before hauling himself to his feet. Stumbling forward a step, he made his way to his companion and dropped to his knees beside her.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked softly, placing the hand of the broken arm so as to keep the other hand on his elbow, on her back and gave her a small shake. She moaned and he saw her hands move underneath her to push herself up slightly.  
  
"I loathe him. I cannot stand him," she spat, getting to her knees. She saw the young man's arm and cried out. Her hands reached out and took a hold of his broken arm, replacing the hand he had on his elbow. After inspecting it, she looked up at him, her face full of sympathy. "Let us go. Back to our quarters. We can deal with everything there."  
  
She got to her feet, using the wall as support, and helped him to stand. Placing her hands on his broken joint again, they slowly made their way back to their rooms.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Zidane was slowly walking near a small village a ways away from the Dragon's Gate. He was relaxing, as was everyone else. They were at the inns and shops or doing whatever they wanted…  
  
"Run! Run, you fools, run, run!"  
  
Zidane whirled to see a man dressed in a black cloak running towards them. Wait, no…a boy, a teenager, maybe 14, 15…  
  
"Are you listening!? You fools, I said, run! Hurry!"  
  
Without stopping, whoever this was grabbed Zidane and picked him up and kept running. "Hey!" yelled Zidane, "What are you doing!?"  
  
"Saving your life!"  
  
"What?"  
  
Zidane looked back and saw hundreds of soldiers, all dressed in blue armor, destroying the town. "Wait! My friends are back there!"  
  
The person stopped and said, "Zidane Tribal, you are in great danger." Fleeing people swarmed around them, trying to get away. The soldiers were closing in for the kill. One of them saw the two of them and charged, his sword waving above his head.  
  
Zidane jumped to fight back, his daggers flashing. The man ran up to him and said, "Zidane, don't fight them! You can't win right now!"  
  
"Then what are we supposed to do! And who are you, anyway!"  
  
Suddenly, the man pointed his left hand at the soldier. Then Zidane saw it was wrapped with black cloth and metal encased the thumb and first two fingers. There was suddenly a huge, blasting noise, and a soldier fell. "My name…is Viteros. And we're getting out of here."  
  
Viteros pulled a small orb out of his cloak and said, "Touch this, quickly! Let's go!"  
  
Zidane touched the orb, and they disappeared.  
  
--------------  
  
The two found themselves in a forest. It was peaceful, with trees and a small spring, which made a brook that flowed lightly over mossy stones. The glade was relaxed, but inside Zidane his spirit was raging.  
  
"You! Viteros! What…who are you!?"  
  
"The person who just saved your life. If you stayed back there…"  
  
"I could have taken him! And all my friends are back there! Dagger…Vivi…all you guys…"  
  
Zidane sat on a rock and buried his head in his hands. "…Garnet…"  
  
"Hey, didn't you already say…never mind…" said Viteros, walking over. "Zidane, you're friends are alive. We just can't reach them at the moment. Here, let's go."  
  
"Where're we going?"  
  
"To meet both of our enemies."  
  
Viteros thought to himself for a while and muttered under his breath, "Sephira…you'd better be ready…"  
  
Then he said to Zidane, "What're you waiting for!? Hurry it up!"  
  
"But…who are the enemies?"  
  
"Someday you'll know. But first…we're going to take a very long journey. And remember, just because its an Angel doesn't mean the heart is still white. And Devils are not always the servants of darkness…"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Sorry. You'll learn more but hurry up! We've got to get to my airship now!"  
  
---------------  
  
The airship was small, streamlined metallic one, and probably designed only to carry one person. Zidane had to sit in the "guest cockpit" which he called the "cargo hold".  
  
After a while of flying, Viteros came back into the hold and said, "How are you feeling?"  
  
"I'm all right, I guess…but what are you doing? And where are my friends?"  
  
"Unfortunately I can't go back for them. Our enemies probably have them now."  
  
Zidane stood up and shouted, "How can you say that so calmly! All my friends could die at any time, and you just sit there relaxing!"  
  
"I see no reason to panic at the moment," said Viteros, "you are right, we're going to have to hurry, but screaming and running in circles isn't going to make this airship go any faster."  
  
The thief took a deep breath and said more calmly, "All right. Where are we going."  
  
"To tell the truth," replied the other, "I'm not exactly completely all the way sure. The longitude and latitude of our destination was written in the dust on my table at the inn I was staying at, with a note."  
  
"What was on the note?"  
  
"Maybe I'll tell you someday. I can tell you it was from a man who calls himself Terisas. Maybe you've heard of him…he's an expert in what he calls 'neo-genetics' and he has actually done some incredible things in science…"  
  
"I might have heard of him."  
  
Viteros looked out the window and said, "Either you're very good at information gathering or a liar. Very few except for the highest rank have ever heard of his work, and for a very good reason. When it comes to ethics, Terisas was dabbling in what you could very nearly call blasphemy. Although…he did help me a long time ago…"  
  
"How?"  
  
"That I won't say." A beeping from the cockpit caught Viteros' attention, and he said, "Just relax, Zidane. Grab some food from a case if you need some. I'll be right back."  
  
After Viteros left, Zidane started looking for that food he was talking about. Then he found a heavy metal crate with a skull on it with very small print that said "A-D Proj. Relic case no. 3" on it. He tried to open it, but it wouldn't, and he tried to move it, since it was in front of a wooden case that said "Dry Food". Finally, in an act of desperation brought by hunger, he took a running start and slammed hard into the crate's side.  
  
Wham.  
  
Zidane looked and saw, incredibly, that there was a small hole in the wall. He pulled a little book out that said "Record of Project: Angel, Devil- Agenda 9". Curious, he opened it and saw on the first page…  
  
A picture. But an incredible picture, showing a person exactly as in real life. It was Viteros…although he had much shorter hair in that picture. On his arm he had a tattoo in bold black lettering that said "Devil Project no. 9" and smaller lettering that read "Ojikage". He went further into the book, skipping randomly through and found odd dates that he couldn't read (at least, he guessed they were dates) with records that read, "Specimen shows signs of enhanced intelligence but lowered sanity. Psychic abilities on the rise, but doesn't show the same characteristics as the other Devil- types" and "This one shows the proper level of subservience to the normal Devil-types, and is physically very sufficient for the Project. Survival approved."  
  
And then another…this one wasn't written in the tidy handwriting of the scientists and was instead written in sharp, harsh, somewhat scraggly writing that said:  
  
~You…you bastards. I know you're going to read this, so I put it here. Dr. Codos left it in here; I suggest you advise her to be more careful with her supplies. I put this message here as a warning to you all. Your psychological analyzing of all of us has all failed. Do not trust the Devils or the Angels. I think that they'll all come back to kill you. And don't trust me either. I swear this. In five more days I'm going to start my insurrection. You better be-~  
  
"Zidane? Did you find the food?"  
  
Zidane hurriedly threw the book back into the hole and sat in front, pretending to be looking at the wooden crate. "Is there some in here?"  
  
"Yeah. Open it up, and then come to the front. You should see this."  
  
"All right, I'll be there. Wait a minute."  
  
After Viteros left Zidane quickly put the metal crate back and then got some dried yellow things in a bag labeled "Banana Chips". Then he went to the front. 


	2. Chapter Two

Second part. Yays. Please read and review. ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: Again, we don't own FFIX or anything to do with it. We simply own our characters. ^_^  
  
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Chapter Two  
  
The two young Genomes lounged in Kuja's room, having performed healing magic on themselves, fixing the youth's arm and healing any minor injuries. Kuja laid sideways on his bed, propping his head up with his arm and Sephira had settled in an old armchair, her legs draping over the side, her head resting on the armrest.  
  
"We need more help, Kuja. We cannot do this ourselves!" Sephira protested, digging her nails into the armchair in desperation.  
  
"We shall be fine. We shall look over things up here, while he watches things from down there."  
  
"What if he cannot?" she cried and stood, clenching her fists in anger. She gave a sigh of exasperation and turned from him. "Why do you place so much faith in him? I do not even trust him."  
  
"Why should you not trust him? True, I do not trust him completely, but I place my faith in him because I believe in his power. How can you not?" Kuja replied calmly, closing his eyes in thought. He opened them as he heard her shift. She was facing him again.  
  
"I know of his power! I know what he is!" she cried and sat down on the chair once again, crossing her arms and legs. "I do not believe in him because I do not trust him. Why should he seek us out? We are only pathetic" —she spat this word in hatred— "Genomes. As Garland said. Why should—"  
  
"Do you believe what Garland is feeding us?!" Kuja asked in disbelief as he stood. He crossed over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You believe the vile words that come from his mouth? Tell me it is not so!" He tightened his grip as she looked away.  
  
"I sometimes think it is so. Could it be? We face him and he always manages to prevail over us. The both of us. We can fight as well, yet he always seems to have the upper hand over us. Kuja, you must give in to his words sometimes, as I do."  
  
"No. I do not. I cannot. He is vile, wicked, heartless. All he spouts is lies. All of them!" His voice rose as he continued. "He lies! He has always lied to me, ever since he brought me to this world! All he ever told, it was a lie!" He inclined his head to one side and stared at the ground, his hands never leaving the young woman's shoulder. "Lies," he repeated bitterly.  
  
".... Kuja..." She covered one oh his hands with one of her own and stood, bringing her other arm around him, holding him.  
  
"He lies, Sephira. Do not believe him. We are strong. We can live though anything. Together, I know we can."  
  
"That, I do believe."  
  
----------------  
  
They confined themselves in Kuja's room, not wanting to cross paths with Garland for the time being. So they stayed in the small quarters and laid out their plans and reviewed them.  
  
"He says that he is going to work himself into their friendship, yes?" Sephira asked, glancing up at Kuja, who nodded.  
  
"He told me, when we were talking through the crystal by the moon of the previous night, that he had gained their leader's trust." Kuja paused. "He then said something which confuses me. I cannot quite recall what it was, but it was almost as though he were telling me my fortune. He spoke of things yet to come. The battle between the light of the dark and the dark of the light and the defeat of a keeper, a slaver. The release of the prisoners and the death of another."  
  
Sephira shuddered and gazed at Kuja.  
  
"What could he be talking about? I understand none of it."  
  
Kuja shook his head, tapping his index finger on his knee in agitation. "Neither do I. We shall just have to take his word for it."  
  
"Take his word—? Kuja! Why do you place all your hope, all your trust, in him?!" she cried, realizing they were going to have another argument on the same topic. Kuja glanced at her, smiling slightly. He took a hold of her wrist and pulled her down to sit beside him.  
  
"I place my trust in him because he is the only one who can help," he replied calmly. Sephira remained silent as Kuja's smile grew a little. "Have no fear, angel. He knows what he is doing."  
  
She kept her quiet for a moment, before answering.  
  
"Yes, but.... do you?" She stood and left the room, leaving Kuja in a small state of shock. He regained his composure and stood as she strode from him.  
  
"I know what I am doing, Sephira!" he shouted after her in anger. "Do you doubt me?! I know what I am doing!" he cried in desperation after her. She had dug into a part of Kuja that he wanted left untouched. He wasn't quite sure of what he was doing and it hurt his pride. His ego couldn't stand it.  
  
Sephira left him and drifted through the halls of the Invincible, not having a set destination. She sighed and halted, leaning against a wall. Taking a deep breath, she held her first two fingers of either hand to the sides of her head, at the temples. Closing her eyes, she reached out with her mind through the Invincible, seeking out Garland and his whereabouts. He was far on the other side of the airship, the side she intended to stay away from.  
  
"Good. Stay away from us, you pompous bastard," she hissed in contempt, moving off down the halls. She felt the need to visit the cockpit, so she did, halting and staring at the Genome who piloted the craft. The young man stared out the large front window. His hair didn't shine, his eyes were dull, the tail didn't move. It was though he was devoid of life. No, devoid of soul.  
  
She glanced uneasily at her back, relieved that the tail didn't show. She hated it. It made her seem as though she were one of them. But she wasn't. Of course not. She had a soul, a vibrant, vivid soul of her own.  
  
"Not a soul of my own," she murmured. "Not 'mine' at all. It is his. Garland. I loathe you. You may own me, but that does not make me your doll. My tail is a symbol of your possession over me, but that does not make me your pet to cage."  
  
She glared at the lifeless Genome, as though it was his fault. The young woman took a deep breath and turned, leaving the cockpit. It wasn't as welcoming as she had thought before. As she left, she muttered one last word.  
  
"No."  
  
The Genome continued to pilot the airship, unaware of what had passed behind him, unaware of the fact that the young Genome with a soul seemed to loathe the sight of him. He was oblivious to it all. The only thing that mattered was the ship, the destination and the sky before him.  
  
-------------------  
  
Kuja sat in his room, contemplating on what his companion had told him before her departure. It was true, he was unsure of the things he did and he hated himself for it.  
  
"Scum. Worthless, unwanted. That is all that I am. Why do I even attempt?" he asked himself contemptuously, loathing the thoughts of himself. Why didn't he just go and 'stop' himself? Put an end to his suffering.  
  
As he dwelled on this idea, the door burst open and his companion ran in, sobbing. Throwing herself into his arms, she cried on to him, burying her face in his cloth-like armor.  
  
"What is wrong? Did he attack you again?" he asked quietly. She looked up at him, her emerald eyes over-bright with tears. She shook her head, unable to speak for the moment. Kuja remained there, comforting her by stroking her hair and whispering consolations to her. As she found the will to stop her tears and bring her breath back, she smiled slightly to him.  
  
"I am better, Kuja."  
  
"What was wrong?" he questioned, staring into her eyes. She glanced away.  
  
"Do we truly own all of us? I do not believe this. I do not own my soul; Garland does. I do not own my body; Garland made it, therefore it is his. I own none of me!" she wailed, burying her face back on the youth's chest. He shook his head, placing his face down to the top of her head, nuzzling his nose in her hair.  
  
"You have no sense. He does not own us, because we shall break free. We do not obey him, we defy him. Therefore, we are our own."  
  
It occurred to Kuja, just then, that he knew why he didn't put an end to his suffering. Not yet, at least. It was because of her. She needed him and he didn't want to abandon her. She would despair without him.  
  
He smiled, her hair brushing his lips.  
  
She made his life worth living.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Zidane?  
  
"Mmppfff?"  
  
"Stop eating."  
  
"Mppfff."  
  
"Little punk kid…saying crap like that…"  
  
"Mpf."  
  
"You little chimp! Take this!"  
  
"Mmmm…pppffff! Mmmm!"  
  
"Anyways…look out the front window. Check out that city!"  
  
Zidane swallowed the banana chips and then said, "I've never seen a city like that before…"  
  
Indeed, Zidane hadn't. Most of the city was made of a dark metal, ranging from light gray to pure black. He turned to Viteros and said, "Is this our final destination?"  
  
"Exactly. This is where we get off, and we meet with a friend of ours."  
  
"Who's that?"  
  
Viteros shrugged. "I don't know. But the note said that."  
  
Zidane looked at the magnificent city and said, for lack of anything better to say, he said quietly, "Meh."  
  
"Meh," the other agreed. "Definitely 'meh'."  
  
--------------  
  
They landed at a huge, circular place that seemed to be built exactly for airships like that. Viteros climbed out a small ladder on the side and Zidane quickly followed. Viteros looked around and then said, "Here comes the welcoming committee…I suggest you keep quiet. Sorry…but I think you should talk to them after I explain everything for you."  
  
Zidane nodded, he didn't really have anything to say to these tall, black- shrouded, old-looking men anyways. And so he looked on silently, his hand resting on his pocket. He felt something small and rectangular in there-he realized that he had taken Viteros' little 'diary'. Oh well…he'd need something to do here.  
  
The first of the men removed the shroud from his head, and Zidane could see a wrinkled, old face, with tired black eyes and graying hair. The man gestured with one gnarled hand at Viteros, and then to Zidane, and then to the ground.  
  
In response, Viteros merely laughed darkly and spat on the ground. "You never learn, do you, Yaikin? I respect you as much as a dog respects the hole it sends its food into."  
  
Yaikin's eyes narrowed and he said in a low, harsh voice, "Viteros. As cruel as ever I see. No respect for your elders…"  
  
Viteros shrugged. "Sorry to break it to you, there is a difference between wise elders and senile, overgrown infants, Yaikin."  
  
The older man sighed, closed his eyes, and shook his head. "You never change. Well, an old acquaintance wants to speak with you. Come with me."  
  
Viteros and Zidane followed Yaikin and his entourage into a dimly lit building composed of metal and obsidian, with shining, cold black walls and metal supports. The floor was granite, and the people inside seemed almost as cold and lifeless as the stone itself. When they both walked in, they couldn't suppress a shiver.  
  
In here Zidane thought, "So this is why he's the way he is. He was raised in a place like this…"  
  
Further on, they came to a stone dais with a small red orb on it, with a yellow light that streamed in from above, despite the fact that there was no window there. Zidane looked up in amazement, and then looked more earthward to see Viteros talking with Yaikin.  
  
"Sorry, old man, but you're going to have to clear out. I don't like having my conversations monitored."  
  
"And I'm sorry, but you've proven yourself to be very untrustworthy before, Devil Nine. With fragile equipment like this, I'm not sure I can go away confident that you won't destroy anything."  
  
"How about this, old man?" Viteros pressed some gil into Yaikin's gnarled hand. "Perhaps this little…token of my esteem for you will let you…trust me?"  
  
Yaikin stiffened and said, "How dare you believe that I am susceptible to bribery! If you are willing to spend money, then this conversation must be very secret indeed! What evil heresy are you planning now?"  
  
"No heresy," said Viteros, lifting his hands.  
  
"Don't lie to me!" shouted Yaikin angrily, "don't tell me you don't remember the events at Outer Heaven 3 a few years ago!"  
  
Viteros looked upwards and said, "Now that little term brings back some memories. You cut me real deep there, man."  
  
Yaikin was about to launch into another diatribe, when Viteros' metal-clad hand appeared again, and a quick prick into the old man's arm made him drop.  
  
Zidane rushed over and said, "What did you-"  
  
"He's unconscious for the next few hours. Let's see what our friend has to say, shall we?"  
  
Viteros walked over to the orb and encased it completely in his hands. Then he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Then he opened them and said, "Zidane, c'mere. Do what I did."  
  
Zidane did so, and he suddenly saw a new reality, where he was in a massive, swirling black void, while a matrix of green letters and numbers swirled around him. He looked over and saw that his companion was there too, looking around. "What are you looking for?"  
  
"The right frequency. If I am correct, which I might not be, the correct frequency for them is 957.14…"  
  
"Who is 'them'?"  
  
"You'll know when you see them."  
  
Suddenly two figures appeared out of the darkness. A young man, a very unique looking man too, with a very odd type of clothing that revealed most of his midriff and legs, and a young woman who appeared to be wearing very close to what he was.  
  
Viteros stepped forward and a slight, grim smile touched his lips quickly, briefly. "Ah, Sephira. It is good to see you after so long…"  
  
Sephira nodded toward him and said, "Viteros, you do know what happened at Hael?"  
  
"Unfortunately, I was there at the time. That's where I picked up this one." Viteros gestured with his head toward Zidane. Zidane didn't really know what to do, so he gave a small wave and then said under his breath, "Meh…"  
  
The young man who was with Sephira said, "So you are completely sure about him?"  
  
"Of course. I'm surprised you don't recognize him."  
  
He shrugged. "It has been a while. And he has changed, dramatically so."  
  
"It does not matter. That is not the point," said Sephira, "What the point is is that Terisas is starting operations again. And if he is involved then the other-"  
  
"I'm very aware of that." Viteros said softly. "And I think this one, Zidane, is going to be the key to victory over our friend the Angel of Darkness. I watched him for a few days, and I think that his trance is very, very powerful. It could be the deciding factor."  
  
Zidane walked closer and said, "Hey, you're going to use me without anything saying? What am I, a sword? Listen, I'm not fighting unless I know anything. And you-" he pointed at Viteros, "You owe me my friends!"  
  
"If I'm right," said Viteros, "Then your allies are not far off from our exact location. Unless they're with Garland…" he gave the two a quizzical look.  
  
The young man shrugged and said, "Sorry, but I do not have that good information. Our ugly, old master is keeping a close watch on us both…he believes we are conspiring against him. But there was some interesting cargo in a box that moves that arrived a while ago…but I do not know where they put it."  
  
"You better get some better intelligence than that if you're going to make a successful operation, Kuja."  
  
"Look, I am doing the best I can do!" said Kuja, some anger blazing into his eyes, "It is not like I am trying to fail! And-- Do not dare to laugh at me!" he hissed venomously.  
  
"Sorry," said Viteros, "but…despite how very, very right you are you still need to try harder!"  
  
"I am…trying…to! But it is not that easy with Garland always watching over your shoulder!"  
  
"Okay, relax, relax…you don't need to get so worked up, you little fishlet…"  
  
Sephira rolled her eyes and said, "All right, Viteros, just remember your part! We shall send you more updates as it comes along. All right?"  
  
"Are you asking my permission?"  
  
"That is besides the point," said Kuja. "We shall talk again, Viteros."  
  
Viteros cut communications, and then they were back again in that simple room. Viteros turned to Zidane, who said, "No way. You need to explain everything that's going on now."  
  
"Sorry, but nothing doing," responded Viteros. "You'll get the details as we go along."  
  
"Listen, I'm not going to be your pawn," said Zidane, putting his finger against Viteros' chest and glaring into his face. "And I'm not going to be ordered around like this!"  
  
Viteros turned away and said, "Go outside and see the city. You'll learn more later."  
  
As Zidane walked away he fingered the book in his pocket and said, "I'll learn more than you think, Devil Nine…"  
  
----------------------  
  
Outside, Zidane went alone to a bench that sat by the road. He sat down and opened the old book again. He read on from Viteros' last 'entry'…  
  
~The Ojikage is, unfortunately, beginning to show signs of extreme rebelliousness inside. He keeps his anger pent up, and there's a lot focused on him, and that's not good for his nerves. If that full rage lets loose something terrible could happen…on the other hand, his psychic abilities are still on the rise. He is also getting smarter, and, as a result, much more secretive. Unfortunately, we're not completely sure what to do about that. And as for that 'insurrection' he was talking about…  
  
It could be happening now. It could be happening here. Devil Nine was apparently correct. Two doctors, Orolis and Pansin, they were killed by Angels. Five were killed by Devils. I don't know what we're going to do. However, this ability to glean information is apparently a good sign of Ojikage's leadership, it means that he was able to get it from other Devils and maybe from Angels. That means Devil Nine makes a fine prototype…a fine leader for the other Devil forces. However, his insubordination and cruelty makes him very not suitable. We will see what happens as we go along.~  
  
The next entry was smudged and written in red. But a dark, deep, dead red…apparently, Viteros, for lack of writing materials, wrote with probably his own blood.  
  
~You didn't listen to any of my warnings! Fools! You're all IDIOTS! There is no escape from the final destruction! If it DOES NOT STOP then there is no future for you, or us. Terminate the project. Terminate all of the specimens if you wish to live! If you wish to preserve the planet and its people!  
  
And I know about that specimen you found as well. The one labeled Avonej. Did you think any of us, with how intelligent we are, would miss that pathetic little anagram of 'Jenova'? The Jenova Project was a failure. I felt it. The people of the Distant Stars tried to work with this best, and they were consumed, they were killed, they were driven insane!!!! Listen to my words! You may yet unleash another more powerful, terrible, destroying creature of mass devastation!  
  
Time runs short. Cut off the experiment now, before they co-~  
  
The record cut off right there, ending in a scribble. While he was writing, someone probably came and took the book from him. That only served to further intrigue Zidane…  
  
He looked up and thought, "I haven't been sitting here for too long, have I?"  
  
He walked through the dank, dark streets glancing around and thinking to himself what a sad place this was. Despite the advanced technology, the great luxuries, it was a terrible place. The whole place stank of death and machinery to Zidane. Most of the life in the ground itself was crushed. No plants except for the occasional tree planted in the middle of the sidewalk…steam that smoked out in white clouds from grates on the ground…. A city populated by angry, paranoid, tense people. Nothing but…exactly that. Nothing.  
  
Through this entire reverie Zidane had been slowly walking the dark streets he accidentally bumped into some people. To be precise, a tall, burly man and a much smaller, scrawny-looking, man with a sharp eyes and a long nose.  
  
"Hey," said the scrawny little man in a dry, nasal voice, "What do you think you're doing, primitive?"  
  
The large man agreed in a thick voice, "Yes. What do you want?"  
  
"Me? I just want to help other people. That's my job." Zidane tapped his chest, the way he was accustomed to. But before he was done, the burly man walked up quickly and picked Zidane up by the shirt. "We really don't care about your job. What we want is that you just stay out of other people's business. What do you think?"  
  
"Hey!" said Zidane, "I'm not the one going around picking people up! Put me down!"  
  
"I don't think so," said the scrawny man, walking up, rubbing his hands. "Gilan, do what you want with him. Break his bones."  
  
"Which bones?"  
  
The thin man smiled cruelly under his long nose. "All of them."  
  
Zidane looked skyward and said, "The man says, 'All of them.' I thought that Viteros said weird stuff…"  
  
Gilan rushed toward Zidane, and the small warrior leapt out of the way and delivered a quick slash with a knife. The burly man roared and fell, bleeding from his leg. Zidane whirled to face the scrawny one, automatically getting into a fighting position. A shadow of a smile flitted across the man's face and he said, "So you wish to challenge me? Well…you defeated my bodyguard…"  
  
Suddenly, laughter echoed from behind them, and the scrawny man whirled in rage, to see Viteros, laughing, apparently, for no reason, walking closer. His whole body shook from the chilling, eerie laughter that kept coming, and didn't stop.  
  
"Viteros! What are you doing here!?" screamed the man.  
  
Viteros merely kept walking closer, closer…until suddenly, his laugh turned into a yell, as he spun in the air and kicked the man in the head, throwing him to the ground. "Viteros! What's-"  
  
"No time to talk, Zidane!" shouted Viteros, "We're leaving!"  
  
"And why are we?" said Zidane, running up to, and then running with Viteros back to the hangars.  
  
"Apparently, our enemies have found us."  
  
"What!?"  
  
"Yes. But I may have a fix on where your friends are located. I'm going to try to bust them out sometime, but hang on!"  
  
They jumped inside the airship, and Zidane could see out of the window soldiers dressed in metal carrying large, thick metal sticks. When they stopped, they aimed the sticks at the ship and fired off bolts of light that smashed into the small craft.  
  
They lifted off, but during the process one of the shots came through the glass. It seemed as if time slowed down, as the bullet made it's way to Zidane, slowly…slowly…and then slammed into his chest, throwing him in a spurt of blood.  
  
Zidane groaned as burning pain ripped through his body. Viteros shouted over the gunfire without turning around, "Sorry, Zidane, but I need to pilot! I think I'm-"  
  
Another blast rocked the airship, and Zidane fell over with a cry of pain. He shouted to Viteros, "I'm…I'm going…I can't believe it's ending already…am I just…"  
  
"You just need time to adjust to the new technologies you'll find," said Viteros. "You just…um…I think I've got a potion or something in the emergency case here…" His hand fumbled around in a small compartment next to him, and he was just about to tell Zidane he couldn't find anything when he heard Zidane's own voice say, "Vit…what…"  
  
Viteros saw a dim red glow at the edges of his vision, and he said, "Zidane, you know what this is…you've done it before. Trance!"  
  
"No…this is…this is stronger, Viteros! This isn't a Trance! It's not controlled. It's just raw destructive energy!"  
  
"What…!"  
  
Zidane looked at his hands, and saw that they were glowing red and gold, and that his body felt like it was full of surging power. He suddenly said, "I know what to do!"  
  
"What are you…"  
  
Zidane rushed down the corridor until he came to a ladder. He quickly climbed up, he felt like the power would unleash itself at any minute, he had to hurry, couldn't do it in here…  
  
---------------  
  
A minute later, Zidane climbed up and out of the small airship and was on the top. He could now really see the enemies, at least 17 airships with large guns, with soldiers hanging out of the side doors shooting their own guns. Zidane clenched his fists, faced them, and let the energy flow. Then he opened his hands and put them forward and shouted, "Versus armor!"  
  
A blue, crystalline sphere seemed to encase the ship for a moment, and then it disappeared. Then Zidane continued, "Dragon Rage!"  
  
A massive oriental dragon of shifting colors appeared above their airship, and when Zidane gestured, the dragon rushed through the enemy ranks.  
  
The soldiers screamed as their bodies were ripped and burnt, the airships exploded in midair showering the other ones with shrapnel. The dragon didn't stop until it had gone all the way through, and then, with a final, defiant roar, it dissipated into thin air.  
  
Zidane stood panting, the cold wind whipping around him. Finally, he went down back into the airship.  
  
--------------  
  
He found Viteros waiting for him at the bottom of the ladder. Apparently, autopilot had finally been engaged.  
  
"How did you do that?" came the dark voice of the enigma.  
  
"I…I don't know," said Zidane. "What is it, anyway?"  
  
Viteros turned away and said, "Something I used to be able to do a long time ago. On another world. In another form. That was when I could use the power, the raw, destructive, mysterious power of Limit Break."  
  
Zidane looked towards the floor and said softly, "Limit break…"  
  
"It is destruction channeled through the human being in the purest form," said Viteros. "Limit Break, which is the more primitive form of Trance, which is the more primitive form of Overdrive. Limit Break, because it is so raw and uncontrolled, is much more difficult to utilize than a Trance. I remember only one person who was able to turn Limit Break to her own uses, healing, but she was a very special case…unfortunately, she's dead now. But Zidane, I've never seen anyone use Limit Break the way you do."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I can use Limit Break. But not the way you just did. I can only do one at a time. You did two. And your…Dragon Rage…it ripped through the enemy forces, and killed them all. Do you have any idea how hard it is to destroy seventeen fully functional angel-type fighter airships? If it were me alone, with my Limit Break, it would take forever. I've got more than one Break, but you utilized a defensive one and then an incredible offensive one very quickly."  
  
Zidane shrugged. "It wasn't that hard…"  
  
"And look!" Viteros pointed at Zidane's chest. "Look there! You are fully healed. You see? Your shirt is ripped but the chest is not, in face, the skin looks like nothing has ever touched it." A half-smile slowly crept onto Viteros' face. "This could change our plans entirely. For the better."  
  
Zidane walked up to Viteros and slowly said, "I am not doing anything for you unless you help my friends. Because to tell the truth, I don't give a dead chocobo about your crazy plans. You're crazy, and I think your friends are too. And unless you help my friends, I'll just sit here and 'Limit Break' you straight back to Satan or whatever."  
  
There was a moment of silence. Then finally Viteros said quietly, "I know. I should have expected that of you. Zidane…to tell the truth…I need your help. And the rest of us need your help. And I promise that I'll help you save your friends."  
  
"Save my friends? Do you think that's all I care about?"  
  
Viteros took a step back and said, "Well, yes, I-"  
  
"Listen," said Zidane, walking closer to Viteros, "I don't need that only. You and those people you work with seem like a really weird sort of people, and you look like a bunch of troublemakers, too. And no matter what happens, ever, I'm going to find out what's going on, and, if I don't think it's a good thing, I'm taking you down, Viteros, and I'll destroy you, I'll crush you so deep into the ground no one will ever remember the mysterious young Devil Nine."  
  
There was another while of silence. Each regarded the other coldly, standing there, not moving. Finally, the low voice of Viteros finally broke the silence. He thrust a hand forward to shake.  
  
"Fine."  
  
-------------  
  
Zidane sat in the back, once again reading the Devil Agenda book. He noted that, finally, there was a picture of a woman. But it was sort of in shadow. He read the entry underneath.  
  
~Apparently, Master Terisas wishes to experiment with his enemies. Unfortunately, he has chosen our friend Garland as the example, and wishes to work with some of his Genome units.  
  
We've already messed with the genetics of some of the Genome Soldiers. They are changing, but many of them have died, and some of the deaths appear to have been very painful. One had his blood seep from his pores steadily until he finally died of blood loss, and others just stop functioning on the spot. However, some appear not to be affected at all, while others suffer radical physical mutations.  
  
We have decided, now, to give the gene to a female, one who appears to be really the only female that Garland possesses. We gave her the Angel gene, but it appears not to have taken effect yet.  
  
We maybe will clone her, so that this other one can receive the Devil gene and we will analyze more.~  
  
The next page was torn out. Strange.  
  
Zidane kept going, until he found another one of Viteros' entries.  
  
~You people are very stubborn. Very stubborn. Unfortunately, that cannot work out. I think the Angelic uprising will occur soon…very, very soon. It's only a matter of days. I am compiling the other books of the Project into this one to make a chronicle. Perhaps in the end it will be all right. Maybe one day I can undo your meddling.~  
  
"Zidane?"  
  
Zidane looked up, slightly startled. "What?"  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
Zidane looked downwards at the floor. He had no purpose in lying now; Viteros had seen him with the book. "Viteros…I was reading your book. The book about the Angel Project."  
  
Viteros looked down at him, no expression came to his face. "Why?"  
  
"Because I…because I was curious. I wanted to know what was going on." He felt slightly defiant. "You never told me anything!"  
  
"I should have known you had the book. I should have known you were smarter than that, Zidane. After all, any 'superior' creation of my maker's rival would have to be very well made…"  
  
Zidane jumped up and shouted, "Don't just call me that! I'm not some machine they built, you know!"  
  
"But a friend of yours is."  
  
"What, Vivi? He's more than just a creation! If you think of us like this…"  
  
Viteros waved his hand, cutting him off. "Relax, relax. That's not what I meant. I can't be prejudiced against creations. If you've read my book then you would know about my life, and my past…"  
  
"Do…do you still have that tattoo?"  
  
"Tattoo…yes. That is one of the reasons that my arm is covered by this sleeve. One of the reasons that I rarely bring my left arm out of the cloak. It is a mark of my darkness, and of my creation. It doesn't stand out as much as a…tail. We were all designed to be super soldiers, Zidane, but some of us were not meant to be warriors head on. Some were designed to lurk in the shadows and strike like snakes in the grass."  
  
Viteros looked out the window and saw the massive airship. He turned back to Zidane and said, "Are you ready?"  
  
The young man said, "We'll find my friends here?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then nothing will stand in our way." 


	3. Chapter Three

Part three. All rejoice! Read and review, please.  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own Final Fantasy IX. We own our characters, though.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Having recently left the conversation with their ally, the two young Genomes made their way back through the Invincible, towards Kuja's room, which was basically their refuge from Garland.  
  
Kuja peered around every corner before moving on; he was very aware of the fact that Garland would probably be searching for them, knowing that they had done something not of his bidding. The young man had requested that Sephira search the airship with her mind and she had come with the results that their old keeper was on the other side of the ship, but moving towards them fairly quickly. So they sped up.  
  
Rounding the last corner to the corridor that contained their rooms, they quickened their pace even more. As they reached the door, Kuja placed his hand on the knob and began to turn, just as Sephira gasped and hid behind Kuja. Garland had just rounded the corner and was coming towards them. Seeing them, the old man began to run. Kuja struggled with the handle for a moment, his sweaty hands slipping off the knob, but succeeded in turning it and they tumbled into Kuja's room, Kuja slamming the door behind him, leaning on it to hold it closed as they heard Garland pounding on the other side.  
  
"Let me in this instant! Where have you been?" he shouted. Kuja winced as Sephira backed away from the door and into the adjacent wall. The young man shook his head, as though to clear it, before answering.  
  
"We have been nowhere, Garland. All we have been doing was wandering through the craft." Kuja started as the pounding began anew, coming more violently from the other side.  
  
"I don't believe you one bit! Come out here now!"  
  
"We would rather stay in here, Master," Sephira replied, coming forward to lean on the door with Kuja, who moved slightly to the side to give her some room. They heard Garland sigh in frustration, snarl, then his footsteps leaving the corridor.  
  
The two Genomes remained silent for a moment, not even daring to breath. Then, Sephira exhaled and looked up at Kuja.  
  
"Is he... gone?"  
  
Kuja turned slowly and quietly unlocked and opened the door an inch. Peering out, he checked the corridor. Seeing no one, he shut the door again and locked it once more.  
  
"I see no soul." Sighing, he left the door and sat on the bed, placing his chin in his hands. "He gave up too easily. Why?"  
  
"I have no clue," Sephira snapped, edgy from their encounter. Kuja's eyes flicked up to her, searching her. She said nothing and sat down in the armchair. She bit her lip in agitation and crossed her arms and legs, staring at nothing in anger.  
  
"What is it?" Kuja asked softly. She shot a look at him and returned to staring at nothing. Shaking her head to try and flick some hair from her face, she reached up and pulled her locks out of her eyes. Biting her index finger in anixiety, she sighed.  
  
"Are we never going to break free. Shall he rule us forever, Kuja." She said this as a statement, not a question. Her gaze settled on him and he shifted, feeling almost uncomfortable. He never liked it when people thought themselves more intelligent than he. Of course, he made an exception to his companion, but it still got under his skin.  
  
"Of course," he muttered, inclining his head to look at the ground. A shiver involuntarily passed through him and he fiddled with his sleeves, wanting to do something with his hands, anything, to just take his mind slightly off of the fact that her gaze was still fixed on him.  
  
"Really, Kuja. Do not lie to yourself."  
  
"I am not lying," he mumbled, becoming even more uncomfortable. Tapping his fingers on his legs, he looked up at her for a moment. She was still staring at him.  
  
"Kuja, you are not telling the truth, so therefore, you are lying. You know that as well as I do and—"  
  
"Why should you know anything about me?" he shouted, breaking his discomfort and jumping to his feet. He clenched his fists and glared at her. "Why should you know anything about me?" he repeated, angrily, but a little quieter. Normally, Sephira would have given into his anger and tried to calm him down. Instead, she got to her feet and glared up at him, placing her hands on her hips.  
  
"I know things about you, Kuja, because I do! Do you ask why the sun rises and sets? No. Why should you ask why I know you, when we have been together for so long?" she cried, placing her hands on his chest and bracing herself as she leaned over, resting her head on him. "I know you because I know you." Shoving him, he stumbled backwards against a wall. Jerking his head up, he stared at her in disbelief for a moment, before giving into his boiling anger.  
  
"Why the hell did you do that?" he shouted, starting forward. She smirked.  
  
"See? I know you. You let your guard down because you thought I had given up, or that I was about to apologize." Smiling smugly, she sat back down in the armchair, crossing her arms. "And you will not touch me now, because you are afraid of hurting me. I am the only thing you have, so you do not want to stop me." Closing her eyes, she waited for him to reply. Instead, he grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her to her feet as she gasped, then he turned and shoved her. She tripped and fell on the bed, rolling over until she was facing the ceiling. Breathing heavily, her chest heaving up and down, she turned her head slightly towards Kuja, her eyes narrowing.  
  
"Damn you." She lay there, catching her breath. He strode over and gazed down at her, an appraising look on his face. He arched an eyebrow and gave a small laugh.  
  
"You look so vulnerable, did you know?" Leaning over, he caught her by the wrists and pinned them above her head, trapping her on the bed. Gazing down at her, he smiled and brought his head forward. Her breath quickened even more, her eyes widened slightly, a tense and exciting feeling rising from the bottom of her stomach up to her heart, which pounded hard, almost painfully so, in her breast, which still heaved up and down. Bringing his nose to hers, he smirked and straightened up, letting her go.  
  
"I have the power over you, angel. Do not forget it."  
  
She sat up, her chest and shoulders heaving as she gasped in breath, her face slightly red. He turned back to her and chucked her under the chin. She snarled and narrowed her eyes. "I shall not forget it, but I shall fight it, until one day, I am equal you, or better."  
  
He laughed quietly. "I am sure you will, angel. I am sure you will." He strode to the door. Turning back to her, he held out his arm. "I am going for a small stroll. Care to join me?"  
  
Sephira smiled angrily and stood, passing him and opening the door, refusing his arm, but still consenting to the walk. Kuja laughed under his breath, his eyes full of merriment.  
  
"You do not know how much that pleases me."  
  
Whirling to face him, she smirked. "I think I do. I know you."  
  
Kuja chuckled and caught up with her. They made their way back through the hallways of the Invincible, enjoying their time. They had nothing to hide from Garland at the moment, so they considered themselves safe.  
  
Making their way to the cockpit, they ignored the lifeless Genome pilot and strolled to the large window. Kuja sighed and leaned against the glass, placing his nose to it, as though he were a willful child, watching something in a store window.  
  
"Clouds. They drift along with no cares in the world. How I wish to be a cloud, to be free of worry, the only thing on my mind the sun, the sky, the open air, the life, the joy I bring when I water the earth and the plants and the shade I give the beings on the surface, shielding them from the sun. Ah, to be a cloud is to be free."  
  
Sephira giggled a little and watched the clouds with him for a while. They stared out at the white, fluffy pillow-like objects, not speaking to one another, but communicating silently, not with words, or mind. Just through their silence, they could understand each other and how the other felt. It was almost a trance they worked themselves into, not words, just mindless, joyful staring.  
  
Kuja's long, desperate, almost longing, sigh, brought them both back to reality. Sephira blinked and slowly shook her head, clearing her mind. Kneeling, she leaned against the glass, staring longingly out. The airship had passed through the clouds and they could see a small bit of grass. The plains stretched out underneath them, rolling greenery as far as the eye could see. She placed a hand on the glass, sighing.  
  
Kuja, seeing her distress, kneeled beside her and wrapped her in his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and nuzzling her nose in the fabric, which was cold with the radiating chill of the metal around them. She could feel the familiar twitch at the corner of her mouth and the pricking in the corners of her eyes. Struggling the staunch her sorrow, she gave a dry sob. Kuja's hand rested on the back of her head, twining and stroking her hair.  
  
"I am okay, Kuja."  
  
"I know. You are strong."  
  
"I am not. But I am enough for this." She wrapped one arm around his neck, holding him to her, for a feeling of protection and comfort. That was what he was to her. Comfort, protection, joy, even a little love.  
  
They leaned over to rest against the glass, Sephira resting her head on his shoulder. He drew his knees to him, and she to her, and they nestled there together, drawing warmth and strength from each other. They didn't move for hours. At one point, Sephira, through half-closed eyes, saw Garland step into the cockpit, check on the piloting Genome and leave. He didn't even seem to notice the young pair. So she closed her eyes again and slept, not aware that Kuja watched everything with awareness, even though his eyes were partially closed. He didn't want to be caught unguarded.  
  
"There is no rest for the weary," he murmured to himself, keeping his voice low enough to not awake his companion, who slept peacefully. "None at all."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Sir! Unidentified airship off to the port side!"  
  
"What!? Call them!"  
  
--------------  
  
Viteros looked at Zidane and said, "They're trying to talk to us. See that flashing light? It's in a code that we're supposed to understand if we're air sailors."  
  
"Are we air sailors?" Zidane really doubted it.  
  
Viteros smiled thinly and pulled out a double-bladed staff from the wall, and handed it to Zidane. "No. I don't think so."  
  
Zidane gripped the handle tightly and said, "So. What are we doing?"  
  
"Breaking and entering. Ready? Your friends are there. We're storming the ship, we strike hard and fast, grab your buds, and we leave like fishes with a rock thrown in the water."  
  
Zidane just looked at him blankly. "Huh?"  
  
Viteros just shook his head. "Let's just rock."  
  
----------------  
  
A few minutes later, Viteros stood in the cockpit, his hand over three red buttons. He called back to Zidane, "You ready?"  
  
Standing at the edge of the ship, Zidane shouted, "Yeah! Let's go!"  
  
Viteros quickly slammed the red buttons and then pushed a larger blue one that opened the door to the ship. The relatively massive cargo door opened, whipping Zidane with wind. The young thief watched as three grappling hooks shot out and embedded themselves into the side of the much larger airship next to them. Viteros ran into the cargo hold and yelled over the loud wind, "Zidane! I've set the ship on autopilot! We're boarding! You ready!"  
  
In answer, Zidane ran to the edge of the cargo hold, but just before he fell out he leapt and landed on the taut wire and slid down to the opposing airship, blade staff in hand, already whirling to defeat two soldiers who urgently ran up and were promptly thrown to the ground, knocked unconscious by sturdy hits by the flats of the blades.  
  
Viteros followed close by, sliding on another wire. He jumped off and the metal-clad right hand appeared again, and with the customary loud noise a soldier fell. Black cloak swirling, Viteros turned to Zidane and said, "Let's go! I've got ranged attack; I'll be right behind you!"  
  
Zidane nodded, and ran quickly across the balcony to a door. Just before they ran through, a small white, winged creature jumped off the roof and onto the scene right in front of them. Zidane looked at it and said, "Hey! It's a moogle!" he looked at Viteros and said, "Have you ever wondered why they keep appearing in the weirdest places?"  
  
Viteros looked at the moogle and, with his chin in his hand, he said, "You know, I did! I never really understood it either…"  
  
Zidane looked at the moogle. "Hmmm…."  
  
Viteros looked at the moogle. "Hmmm…."  
  
Zidane stroked a nonexistent mustache. "Hmmm…"  
  
Viteros stroked a nonexistent goatee. "Hmmm…"  
  
Then Zidane said, "This is stupid. Let's keep going, we don't have any time to waste!"  
  
"Wait," said his companion, still looking at the moogle, "I need to save."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Wait, my memory card is full…we will continue!"  
  
Zidane shook his head as they kept going. "You're so weird…"  
  
-----------------  
  
Inside, the two separated. They reached a "T" hall and so each had to go down one hall, Viteros left and Zidane right. Zidane hurried down only to find a guard rushing at him with a spear. The two passed…and the guard found himself raging as Zidane held up the potion that he had just pickpocketed. The thief drank it down in one gulp, wiped his face, and threw the empty bottle at the guard. The man clutched his face as blood came from his nose, but then curled up and fell as a swift groin kick connected.  
  
------------------  
  
Viteros preferred a more stealthy method. Keeping to the shadows and taking advantage of the chaos, he quietly snuck up behind unfortunate men and hit them hard over the head, putting a hand over their mouths to keep them silent. Once in a while an unfortunate soldier felt cold steel slide into his back, and a strong hand clamp over his mouth.  
  
-------------------  
  
Zidane burst into the engine room, blades flashing. He looked around and then ran towards who appeared to be the only engineer in there. He ran up and held a blade at the man's throat and said, "Move and you die!" The engineer stiffened and said, "Don't hurt me. I'll cooperate."  
  
Zidane slowly steered the man towards the engine, a huge rotor that created electrical energy for the usage of the airship. He said menacingly, "Turn it off. Now."  
  
The man hurried to comply, while Zidane stood guard, just in case anyone tried to come in and cause trouble. After the rotors were turned off guards would stream in here, letting the ones who guarded the prison have much less backup against the mysterious little person who would initiate their demise. After knocking the engineer out, Zidane hurriedly ran towards the prison complex, the lights around him flickering and dying.  
  
---------------  
  
Viteros laughed as the lights went out. Yes, the kid was smart. He knew that they had already been 'caught' and so did not try for stealth at all. How might he do in other battles?  
  
Not the time to wonder. Time to fight. Viteros flew around a corner and ran into a contingent of three soldiers, causing the fighter not to stop but to increase speed, and leap onto one of them. Viteros held his gun at the man's head and said, "Nobody move!" The other soldiers merely glared and rushed, swords drawn.  
  
This had caught him by complete surprise, and he ran down the hall, firing randomly and frantically. "Ah, it's not fair! You guys were mine!"  
  
----------------  
  
Zidane jumped into the room from the air vents, shouting, swinging the blade staff, smashing into two guards, spinning and hitting a third. "Die!"  
  
Zidane looked around and knew he had reached his destination, the prison complex. With each injury he sustained, he felt the power in him growing, and knew that the mysterious power that Viteros spoke about…'Limit Break'…was going to be critical in his war. He would get little scratches, and he would feel the power radiating from the pain. A blood sacrifice? He would have to see if Viteros had any more books about Limit Break when they got back…  
  
"Hey, you're not supposed to-aagh!"  
  
"Stop, you!"  
  
"Wait, what is he…"  
  
The blood pounded in Zidane's ears, his heartbeat raced, and the adrenaline ripped through his body, giving him strength, speed. Power, power…being injured gave him power. Being all right gave him power. He was unstoppable. A juggernaut.  
  
Zidane finally got to a floor that said "Prison Level" on the door, and he smashed it open without thinking how incredible it was that he could reduce a five-inch wooden door into splinters with but a kick. He hurried in, looking…looking…  
  
--------------  
  
A soldier on either side…a split kick should do nicely.  
  
Viteros jumped into the air, cleaving it with his legs as they went to each side, knocking down a guard on each side with a hit to the face. As he landed, he said to himself, "I wonder how many ninja movies have used that one."  
  
Viteros himself was hunting for the two contacts, Kuja and Sephira, but they were nowhere to be seen. Probably they were in a maximum security. No way could they really ever be set loose, especially if what he had heard was true…that Kuja and Zidane were similar, and Sephira, the only remnant of the dark Project: Angel.  
  
Finally getting into a room full of books, Viteros allowed himself a smile. There were books everywhere; this was probably Garland's private library. Perfect for some 'study'.  
  
Viteros pulled a book off of the shelf that said "Shadow Bible".  
  
Intrigued, he opened it, and saw on the first page a scrawled note that he assumed was by Terisas, from the fancy, looped, but cruel writing-  
  
My friend Garland, if I may humbly present this gift to you. You and I are not religious, my friend, but I have found this book incredibly interesting, and actually somewhat useful in my activities. You won't believe it until you read it, trust me!  
  
Clipped into the first page was a picture. It showed two young men Viteros could only assume were Terisas and Garland. Terisas, with his sharp features and black, hole-like eyes, and Garland, who was already beginning to have whitening hair, even though he was probably in his late twenties in the picture. He wore a short, dark beard, but his eyes were the same. Always the same.  
  
Viteros flipped the book open to a random page and was surprised to see what he had turned to.  
  
22. "Henceforth, it came to pass the darkness overtook the land, not as a warrior does, but as a shadow, insinuating itself slowly and quietly among the hearts of men. Behold, they were easily swayed to the force of evil, of greed, of hate, of madness. The devil carefully ensareth them in his chains, and then he leadeth them carefully down to hell."  
  
23. "For behold, darkness always hath lived in the hearts of men. For all eternity has man lusted after power, money, and even fame. Hence, it was but a simple matter for the darkness of eternity to consume their hearts. For the hearts of men are easily forsaken for earthly pleasures."  
  
24. "And so it came to pass that man believed he was as powerful as the Iifa Tree, yea, even as God, repeating the mistake that so many hath made before. The false belief of man's own divinity. For behold, man hath nothing but potential, yea, nothing more than such, with no tools but the ability to manipulate them, spare of instinct but plentiful of intelligence. Man is potential, nothing but potential, and so for eternity it shall be hence."  
  
25. "But then, as such, the spirit of the tempter may enter their hearts and twist their souls into vile darkness. And so he wrappeth his chains of wrath 'round their hearts and souls, and quench their thirst for the things of the world, and bringeth them down into destruction of the unearthly. So worketh the tempter."  
  
26. "Behold, but always shall there be opposition to the darkness forever. Hence, warriors must rise from each generation, each of incredible past, and conquer the evil for a while, before it shall rise again. For behold, darkness shall always rise again. Dying lasts for but a moment, but death is eternal. Henceforth, so is hell. Always will humanity fight with the darkness and also succumb. Darkness never dies. It only but sleeps."  
  
Master Kalisanej the Unholy Prophet, Chapter 19, Verses 22-26  
  
Viteros found himself moved by the passage…moved…uneasy. He glared down at the page and said to himself, "I need to get me one of these. It seems to be very…useful…"  
  
Being so immersed in the book, he didn't feel the air swish with the passage of the dart, didn't feel the intruder Genome walk in the room, and, being so full of the nerve poison, didn't feel the pain in his knees and face as he fell to the floor.  
  
----------------  
  
"Viiiiviiiii! Steeeeiiiiiner! Freeeya! Eeeeeiko! Quiiiiiinaaaa! *breath* Daaaaaaaggeeeeeer!"  
  
Zidane hurriedly ran down the prison halls, looking through bars into cells, wondering where they were…where could they be…dead? No…not dead…best not to think like that…  
  
Finally, when Zidane was passing a cell, he heard two voices somewhat arguing in a cell.  
  
"Ach, I said to move out af ze vey, but nooo, you are just tzoooo schmart fur me! Zo you zay, 'Letz just keep goin'! They're bound to move away fur us!"  
  
"That's not true! I said let's dodge, but no, you…you…"  
  
"Ah, vait! Zee here, here iz a kit, one who can help uz out ov zis dire predicament! Vat's your name, kit?"  
  
Zidane went to the bars and looked at the two strange figures in front of him. One was a huge, burly man, wearing mostly leather, and ripped leather at that. A thin cloth shirt, baggy leather pants, leather vest, torn leather gloves…his black hair was wild and unkempt, his jagged scar going from his ear to his cleft chin made him look like a beast, but his soft brown eyes radiated a kindness, if not much intelligence.  
  
The other one was a chubby little man, with fat hands and a bald head, with the exception of little bits of hair on the side, and a long, droopy gray moustache. He had red-tinted blue eyes, and was dressed in the long, flowing silky robes of a travel-teller, one of the traveling bards who told stories for money and shelter. The other one was probably his bodyguard. Their voices told told much, the strong one was not the brightest but earnest, and the little one had an oily, calculating, but not wholly evil voice.  
  
"I'm…Zidane," he said.  
  
"Aah, Zidane! A very proper name, iz it not, Garret?"  
  
"Whatever. Are you changing the subject, Odine?"  
  
"Me? No! Vat vould make you sink such a thing! You baboon!"  
  
Odine turned back to Zidane and said in his oily voice, "My young friend, as you can see, ve are in a very…unfortunate zituation. You zee, ve vere captured by zis ship when my incompetent donkey ov an azziztant dezided zat zey vouldn't hit us ven ve parked in zeir vay!"  
  
"Sorry, Odine, but I just thought…"  
  
"Thought!? Vat vere you sinking!? I do all of ze sinking around here, bozo!"  
  
Garret looked at Zidane and shrugged. "He's actually usually pretty nice. He's just in a bad mood."  
  
"Zat's right, boy," said Odine, turning back again, "Zidane, was it? Yes, a good name, for a good-looking young boy. Vell…ve'd like to get out of here, you zee, could you help us, ve'd be eternally grateful, right Garret?"  
  
"Yeah," said the strong man, nodding, "We'd pay you very well!"  
  
"Ach! You mean I vould pay heem. Ay voy! Vell, boy, vould you do it? Ve had much gil before they took it from me, but I don't carry all ov my gil with me! I'd go to my bank in Burmecia and get much, zo, zo much for you!"  
  
"I'll help," said Zidane with a slight smile at the two's antics, "you never need a reason to help people. Not even money."  
  
"Yess! Zank you, sank you! You are truly a noble young man. Zat is great. Wait a minute…did you hear that sound? Garret?"  
  
"I'd be quiet, Odine."  
  
The three were silent, and they heard the sound-the unmistakable zing of a sword, and the fleshy impact of a blade to muscle. "Who would be…"  
  
Zidane looked around nervously, glancing at all the doors. Suddenly, he saw a door slowly creak open, and a body fell in. He saw a man walk past. His articulated features made him look like a beautifully carved sculpture; so much was his physical perfection. On his back were six dark wings, folded to make room for him in the small hall. He held in each hand a long katana, and one was bloodied. The man looked at Zidane with fierce magenta eyes, and Zidane felt a chill run up and down his spine.  
  
What…what the…what the hell was that?  
  
Zidane shook his head. This wasn't the time to worry, but the time for action! He turned back to the two and said, "I need to leave right now. I'll be right back, hold on, guys."  
  
"Boy, Boy, it iss all richt, az long az you free uz laterrrr. Sank you in advnaz, boy, and hopefully zee you later…in good hehls!"  
  
Zidane left at a run, hurrying, hurrying…Viteros…where was he!? 


	4. Chapter Four

Read and review, pretty please. ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: La la la... Same as all the other disclaimers. We don't own anything having to do with FFIX. We own our characters, though.  
  
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Chapter Four  
  
Kuja glanced up, fully alert, when he heard guns being fired and screams. Sephira came awake and gazed around her, frowning.  
  
"What do you conceive might be happening? A battle?" she murmured, looking up at Kuja as he got to his feet. Kuja smiled down at her.  
  
"I am sure it is only a minor difficulty. It is probably not a thing to worry about. I shall go and investigate the problem," he replied calmly.  
  
"I am going with you as well."  
  
"I do not believe I could stop you," he said with a smile and held out his hand to her, "so let us depart." He helped her to her feet and they set off to the doors of the cockpit. As they stepped into the metallic hallways, the lights around them flickered and died. Kuja frowned at the gloom.  
  
"What is going on?" he asked and groped for his companion in the darkness. He found her hand and they set off into the darkness. Feeling around them for the walls, they used their hands to navigate the ship. Finding Kuja's quarters, Kuja shut the door as Sephira sat down.  
  
"Kuja, what are we to do? We cannot go through the Invincible without a source of light. We shall eventually run into Garland and we can do nothing in the dark."  
  
Kuja smiled into the blackness and held up a hand. "Ah, but, my angel, we already have light." He closed his hand and when he opened it, a small bit of bright violet flames lingered in his palm. Sephira beamed and stood.  
  
"I had almost forgot in the panic. We must at least witness the problem, to sustain our curiosity." She conjured a bit of light green fire in her hand and they both set off out of Kuja's room, one each of their hands held high.  
  
Hurrying through the corridors, they glanced quickly around them, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary which might compensate for the problem.  
  
"The source of our power-outage would most likely be in the power room. Unless it is only a technical failure in some other part of the ship and it has affected the rest of the lights." He stopped for a moment at the hallways that split off two different ways. "I cannot recall which way to take. I have not visited the power room in a long while. Shall we part ways or choose one and take it?"  
  
Sephira gazed at either corridor, both unpenatrably dark and gloomy. She held up her hand, filling an inch of the blackness with light.  
  
"I believe I shall be fine on my own. We shall separate and then meet back in your room, hopefully with an answer to our curiosity."  
  
"Agreed. I shall see you soon, angel." He turned and ran down the left corridor. She watched him leave, until all she could see was the small flame and the shine of his hair in the distance. Then she whirled around and set off down the right path.  
  
------------------  
  
Kuja hurried along the passageway he had taken, his hand held high to shed a small amount of light to the darkness around him. Checking every door as he went, save those that he knew the contents of, he stopped for a moment, placing his chin in his free hand, thinking as hard as he could. It had been so many years since he had visited the power room; nothing in it held any interest to the Genome. It was all electrical and wires and they didn't fascinate him in the least.  
  
He closed his eyes, trying to think harder. Silence filled his ears. Where could it be? Where could it...  
  
A rustle sounded through his thoughts. His eyes snapped open, but he didn't move, his head still inclined down slightly, his chin still in his palm and his other hand held up. He dimmed the fire of the light, keeping his eyes ahead of him. It was unmistakable. Someone, or something, was walking in front of him. Light footsteps, coupled with a rustle every so often, strode away from Kuja.  
  
His curiosity consuming him, Kuja slowly started forward. Maybe it was only a Genome. But why would a Genome be making rustling sounds?  
  
"Who might that be, walking ahead of me?" Kuja asked the darkness before him, holding up his hand and bringing the bright light back into existence. The form of a person was in front of him. The being was black. His hair, his pants and, oddly, the wings that graced his back. Kuja found this confusing. The person twisted the top of it's body to look back at Kuja and the purple-haired youth saw that this person was a young man, in his late teens possibly. His sharply handsome face, with it's magenta colored eyes and delicate, arched eyebrows, was fixed on Kuja, and yet the black-haired youth didn't utter a word, which unsettled Kuja. The winged youth was strong, built on the slender side, graceful, but powerful. His narrowed eyes met with Kuja's and they kept each other's gaze for a long moment, before the seraph turned and began to walk slowly away once again, his wings folded behind him.  
  
"Wait!" Kuja pleaded and started forward. The being didn't halt, simply raised a hand behind him, slender fingers flexed. Kuja cried out as a sudden energy hit him and forced him to his knees. Struggling to get back to his feet only heightened the pain, and all the while, the winged youth was pacing slowly away.  
  
"Come back!"  
  
--------------------  
  
Sephira ran along her corridor, not bothering to check the rooms as she passed. She had travelled all the hallways of the Invincible, whether it had been physically, or with her mind. She simply didn't know where exactly the power room was.  
  
Stopping for a moment to recollect her thoughts, she glanced around her, then put out the fire in her hand—she could easily relight it—and her index and middle fingers to each side of her head, at her temples. Searching through the Invincible, she tried to find a place, or room, with a certain aura to it. Everything had an aura, whether it be a living person, animal or thing, or an inanimate object. Every aura could almost be described as a color. A human-like being, whether it be an actual human, or a Genome, was a pale blue in color. An animal was brown, sometimes green, depending on what type of species it was. Inanimate objects were varied and many, but most showed up as a grey color. Energies showed as the color they may represent. Electrical exhibited as a yellow tone. Even though the power had been cut, the yellow would still be oozing away from the place where it had been kept, having only been shut down recently.  
  
Finding bright yellow flashes in one room not far from where she stood, she opened her eyes, relit the flame in her palm and set off. Searching as she went, she finally located the power room. Stepping into the large space, she marveled at the wires and machines that occupied the chamber. Spotting one machine which seemed turned off, and with the knowledge that there was an unconscious man on the ground, her suspicions were confirmed; someone, or something, had switched off the power.  
  
"I have come for what I had been searching for," she murmured to herself, whirling around and exiting the power room. Navigating her way back to Kuja's quarters, she sat on the armchair and waited for Kuja to return. Lounging there, tapping her foot on the ground, she realized that something was wrong. Kuja should have been back by now.  
  
Standing, she rushed from the room and retraced her steps, until she found the corridor where they had split ways.  
  
"Kuja!" she cried down the hall he had taken. "Kuja? Are you down there? Answer, lest I worry more for you!" When nothing replied to her call, she raced down the corridor. "Kuja?" she called as she went, searching for him.  
  
As she ran, she didn't notice the hand that fell out of a door on the right of the hallway. The hand was unmistakably Kuja's, slender and pale, and he was obviously unconscious. But so great was Sephira's worry that she simply bypassed this fact, her mind fixed on moving forward, not noticing little details such as this.  
  
"Kuja?" Her voice rang through the hallways, many people hearing her call. And one in particular.  
  
The black angel of Kuja's nightmare had heard and it had kindled an interest in him, an attraction so immense, that he turned and slowly began to pace back up to where he had attacked Kuja.  
  
And Sephira, unknowingly, pursued the one she hoped to find.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~Viteros…what have you gotten yourself into!?~  
  
Viteros looked around the room. He had little else to do besides that but muse on his most amusing, and, ironic fate…  
  
~I really need to pay more attention. The Khamrask really got to me too easily. Heh…frick, I suck.~  
  
While engrossed in reading the Bible, Viteros had been so interested he had let down his guard. That allowed Terisas' elite warriors, the Khamrask, to abduct him…Bloody Accursed, that was a very ironic thing, considering Viteros had been the one had almost destroyed the Khamrask…back in the days…his glory days…of the Devil Project.  
  
-----------------  
  
"Viteros…Viteros…you awake?"  
  
"Uuuggh...ah, Master Terisas!"  
  
"Hah, don't, Viteros. Relax. Sit back down, and don't bow so low! It shows weakness and fear, you know. And you, as leader of the Khamrask, you really need to show more strength! You are weak on the inside, but you can overcome it."  
  
"Yes…my lord…"  
  
"Viteros, relax! Really, you are so, so tense! You REALLY DO need to relax for a moment every day. It helps with your nerves."  
  
"Yes, Master Terisas, I will do as you say…"  
  
"Don't be so utterly formal! I knew that Lerien shouldn't have put so much of that NT-18^3 into you. It really isn't that great of a chemical."  
  
"I can't change what I am."  
  
"I didn't say change! You are so eager to please."  
  
"My Lord…right now…I live to serve."  
  
"And a chance to serve you will now have. Viteros, you will lead my new genetically engineered army. Your second in command will be Lashramakagosk."  
  
"Lashramakagosk…no one calls him that, and you know it."  
  
"I know, but the term 'Angel' is so strange. I don't like to use it."  
  
"Well, sir, I don't mean to tell you advice, but I think that if you insist on calling him something besides Angel, call him Lashra…sir."  
  
"All right, Vit. Hey, Lashra! Get over here!"  
  
"Sir!"  
  
----------------  
  
~And now…I'm back.~  
  
Viteros had to smile at the terrible irony. He was once again a prisoner of the Khamrask, in a lab, once more, merely a test subject for Terisas to work with as he pleased…nothing more, once again, than a worthless little test subject, like a rat.  
  
~What was I back then…all loyalty to Terisas, my creator, my master. My…slaver. Terisas, I swear by the dark gods, I will avenge myself! You will suffer, truly, at the hands of merciless justice.~  
  
Then he shook his head. ~What can I do now? I'm his prisoner again, and I'm not even the one with the great power to defeat them…Lashra…~  
  
Then a much more practical thought took place in his head. ~Where the %@#!#^$#%@#!(%%^%*@#(&$#*!(@#$*#@! Is Zidane??~  
  
----------------  
  
Zidane was, at the moment, crawling, centimeter by centimeter, underneath laser sensors. He didn't know what they were, but he did have enough common sense to know that they probably wouldn't be a good thing to touch…not anything that Garland had sitting around. And especially the long things that were moving along the walls…looked a lot like what Viteros had called 'guns'.  
  
A few minutes after going through the door and sneaking through the dark, he had seen Viteros, on a metal dais. Not really on it, more like hanging over it, with cables hooked onto his arms and back. Maybe Zidane could finally see that 'freaky arm' of his. Still, curiosity could wait until they were safe. No time to waste. Zidane still crept, along, along…slowly…quietly…couldn't set off anything…  
  
Zidane had but one thought to console himself. "At least now he can't call me an idiot…he'll know he depends on me!"  
  
-----------------  
  
Zidane halted for a moment, taking a breath. Glancing up as he heard a slight buzz in the air, he realized that the sensors had turned off. Relaxing, he suddenly tensed when his mind gripped on the fact that someone, or something, had turned them off. Narrowing his eyes, he slowly scanned the area around him.  
  
A hand suddenly latched onto his shoulder.  
  
Zidane jumped and scrambled to his feet, stumbling away from the person behind him. Turning, he tripped over his own feet as the somebody walked towards him. Hands took his shoulders and emerald eyes met his.  
  
"It truly is you. I did not fathom you would come here. Why have you come?"  
  
Zidane recognized that voice. It had been the young woman that Vit had been talking to. What was her name... Sephira?  
  
He struggled out of her grip and tapped his chest. "Of course it's me! I have to save Viteros!" He watched, a slow smile creeping up on his face as Sephira arched an eyebrow.  
  
"Surely he can take care of himself. Unless his powers are not as we thought." She closed her eyes and placed a hand to her mouth, as though thinking. "I believed that you would not feel inclined to crawling under those sensors, whatever you may have been after. That is why I shut them off."  
  
"Well, thanks, I guess," Zidane replied, placing a hand on the back of his neck and laughing a little, quietly.  
  
"What have you to laugh at? Viteros apparently requires our aid, so shall we not go and get him?"  
  
"Uh... I just noticed. Where's that guy you were with? Kuja?" He bit the end of the last words when he saw an extremely worried and troubled expression rise of the young woman's face.  
  
"I do not know where he may be. I am upset and anxious for him. I should have found him by now. But he seems to have vanished. I went down the hall, searching for him, but I found you instead." She sighed in distress. "But I do believe he can take care of himself. We have not the time to worry for him. He can be found after. In the mean time, let us aid Viteros."  
  
Zidane nodded, slapping a hand to his chest. "Let me go first," he offered, turning from her and creeping towards where the enigma was being held, drawing his daggers. Sephira followed, smiling slightly, simply striding past him and taking the lead.  
  
"There is no security. And nothing to harm us. Let us do this quickly and efficiently." She reached Viteros and circled him, carefully examining the wires and cables hooked onto him. Zidane blushed furiously, straightening up and dashing over.  
  
"Vit! Vit? Are you okay?" He tapped Viteros on the arm, waiting for a reply, which came in a hate-filled whisper.  
  
"I am a fool." 


	5. Chapter Five

Review! Please!  
  
Disclaimer: Same old, same old. We don't own anything having to do with FFIX. Our characters are our own.  
  
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Chapter Five  
  
Kuja awoke, his head pounding. Placing a hand on his forehead, he groaned and tried to prop himself up on his elbows. Succeeding, he glanced around him.  
  
"Kuja?"  
  
Gazing quickly around, Kuja realized that it was Sephira. Her voice was unmistakable. And it seemed to be coming from in front of him.  
  
Struggling to his feet, Kuja leaned on a wall for support for a moment, regaining his breath; whatever the seraph had done to him, it had drained his energy by a fair amount. Starting off, he ran as fast as he could in his current state, hoping to find Sephira before she ran into the winged youth.  
  
As he ran, he noted the few side hallways that she could have taken. He decided to skip them and just keep going down the main hall he was in.  
  
He pursued his thoughts as he kept going, focusing on the black- haired youth. Who had he been? Why had he been there? And why did he have wings?  
  
All these questions plagued Kuja, to a point where it angered him. He had always known everything he believed there was to know. If he didn't know exactly what it was, he could make an educated guess. But these topics... They completely eluded him, and this bothered Kuja. Everything had an answer, yet he could not find this one.  
  
Kuja pondered these things as he raced down the hallways, almost absent-mindedly. He didn't see exactly where he was going and he eventually ran into something, or someone.  
  
Glancing at the being he had collided with, he gasped in surprise when he realized that it was the winged young man. Backing away as the seraph turned around, he cringed when he saw that the magenta eyes were narrowed dangerously.  
  
"I thought I had rendered you unconscious," he stated in a light, low, wispy voice. His expression changed to that of amusement and he clapped his hands together childishly and smiled innocently, the movement causing his wings to rustle behind him. "Oh, this place is so much fun!" he remarked happily.  
  
Kuja arched a delicate eyebrow, slightly confused. This winged youth had seemed dangerous, but now he wasn't so sure. Kuja decided to furthur this line of discussion.  
  
"I do not find why this place is so amusing," he remarked, almost casually. "What may I ask are you doing here?"  
  
"What do you think?" the seraph asked, his voice slightly dangerous. Kuja winced; this person obviously went from one emotion to another in the blink of an eye.  
  
"I—I do not know. That is why I ask," Kuja replied, stammering a little.  
  
"Then you do not need to know," the seraph answered.  
  
"Could I at least know your name?"  
  
The black-haired youth laughed, a light, joyous sound like bells, and he shrugged dramatically.  
  
"I do not know why you need to know!" he remarked innocently. "For you shall not live long enough to require such information."  
  
Kuja took a step back, a bewildered, frightened expression on his face. This winged youth said all this like it were a game. Killing Kuja, simply a game. It was murder. Kuja blinked and licked dry lips.  
  
"Please, tell me your name," he begged, though he didn't know why.  
  
"I shall. But you will not need it where you are going." The youth bowed, glancing up from underneath his black hair at Kuja, fixing his magenta eyes on the pale, silver-haired Genome. "I am Angel. Angel-Black."  
  
"Angel..." Kuja repeated. He cried out in terror as Angel suddenly lunged forward, drawing a blade at his side in a swift, fluid motion as he dashed towards Kuja. Stopping the blade's descent inches from Kuja's face, Angel stared into Kuja's eyes and smiled menacingly.  
  
"It was a pleasure."  
  
In the instant Angel-Black had stopped to make that remark, Kuja had formed a small orb of energy in his left hand. Before Angel could furthur his attack, Kuja whipped his hand forward, releasing the energy at Angel, who was hurled backwards with a cry. Landing on the ground and rolling over with a clatter as his blade hit the floor, Angel snarled and dragged himself up, using the wall, until he was on one knee.  
  
"How dare you?" he hissed from between clenched teeth, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Kuja's hands shook with fright and he backed away. Anyone should have been rendered unconscious by that attack. But Angel was still conscious, and able to get back up.  
  
"How...? How are you...?" Kuja stammered, completely polexed. Angel smiled wickedly.  
  
"How do you think I am able to stand it? It was simple. It was a weak attack. Weak. You are weak, pathetic. That is why." Standing and regaining his proper hold on his blade, Angel dashed at Kuja again, holding the sword out behind him, so it wouldn't hinder his charge. Kuja didn't react quickly enough and the tip of the blade sliced up through his face, right between his eyes. He cried out in agony and threw both his hands to his face, shutting his eyes to keep some of the blood from them. His palms were quickly stained. Shaking, Kuja dashed some of the blood from his vision and opened his eyes, to watch what Angel might do next.  
  
Disgusted, Kuja stared at Angel as the seraph licked the blood from his blade, then sheathed it.  
  
"Blood payment for pain." Angel turned and began to stride away. "My time is wasted on someone so low as you." Placing the back of a hand dramatically on his forehead, he shut his eyes. "I go to find the one, whose voice entralled me so!"  
  
"Sephira?"  
  
"I do not know the name of the angel who belongs in the heavens with I, but her voice is lovely, do you not agree?"  
  
"Sephira is the only female Genome who speaks on this airship."  
  
Angel shrugged a bit, laughing. "Then it must be her. I would have kept my mouth shut, if I were you. Now I know exactly who I am after." Shaking his wings a little, he left Kuja, who leaned against a wall, with one hand still clutching his face.  
  
"Please, I beg of you! Come back!" he cried. "You cannot harm her!" Kuja thrust himself off the wall and staggered off after Angel, prepared to stop him in any way he could.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I cannot argue with that," said Sephira shortly. "What were you thinking, getting yourself caught?"  
  
"I guess I wasn't thinking at all…"  
  
"You got that right," said Zidane. Then he turned to Sephira. "After we get him out of here, exactly what will we do?"  
  
She shrugged. "That is a question I cannot answer. Ask your esteemed colleague."  
  
Viteros tried to raise his head a little, and finally they could both see really how haggard he looked. His face and hair were soaked in sweat, and his face pale. His eyes were huge, pain-filled, and his breathing uneven. He gave a game half-smile.  
  
"But…you two did pull through. I knew I could count on you."  
  
Zidane spoke with concern. "Viteros…what now?"  
  
"I'm not sure," he replied. "I'm not at…full strength right now. And, I'm not as clothed as I'd like to be either. I think I'd stand out."  
  
"That is true," said Sephira. "Maybe…if we can get you to Kuja's room, we can acquire some spare sets of clothing for you."  
  
Viteros grinned and said, "I knew I could count on you. But…how exactly will you get me out of here? An alarm will sound if the cables are cut."  
  
Zidane circled him, taking a look at everything. There it was, his left arm, with all of the writing there as well. He saw now with clarity that nearly half the hand was encased in metal, the entire forearm, and some of the upper arm. There seemed to be some outlets for cables like these to plug in.  
  
"If you just unplug me, it just might work. However, a machine is keeping a watch on my vital signs." Viteros hung his head again. "It can't end this way."  
  
"That's why I brought this," said Zidane, pulling out a small obsidian figure. "It's called a Reverse Doll. You had it in your cargo."  
  
Viteros' face brightened. "Zidane, you're brilliant! A Reverse Doll!"  
  
Sephira looked at the two with some confusion. "Reverse Doll?"  
  
"Yes," said Zidane, "It's an item that, when worn, brings the dead back to life in a perfect copy. If we copy Viteros we can just plug the cables into the copy, and leave it there."  
  
Sephira still looked skeptical. "That is an idea. But, should such a plan work, would we not have two Viteros on our hands? Would they both not be fully aware?"  
  
Zidane looked a little downcast at that. "Yes…but what else can we do?"  
  
"It will work," said Viteros with a grim smile. "Just use the Doll on me and I'll do the rest."  
  
"Are you sure?" asked Zidane.  
  
"Trust me."  
  
"All right…"  
  
Zidane slowly moved the Reverse Doll closer to Viteros until it touched the bare skin of his chest and slowly started to glow. Then suddenly it started to stretch and slowly molded over Viteros' body, enveloping him completely.  
  
-------------------  
  
After the stuff went over his eyes Viteros went deep into his mind and found himself in a huge chamber. The walls splintered off into thin spindles of black stone that met in the center, leaving huge spaces between that revealed a blood red, clouded sky above. He had been here often…this was the place of his nightmares.  
  
Viteros walked around a bit until he finally saw it.  
  
A skeleton half-wrapped in flesh, finishing, getting closer. He knew that that thing would, in the end, be Viteros, and then there would indeed be two Viteros alive. But, if he destroyed its mind before it could come fully to life, then he would just have a body that would take his place.  
  
Viteros watched with some frank interest as the body formed. After all, it was not every day one could look at oneself being built.  
  
Finally it was done, and a copy of Viteros stood there, eyes still closed. Viteros approached it slowly, and flicked out his sleeve knife. He was just about to kill it when the eyes flared open. He flew back in shock.  
  
They revealed demonic red eyes, and the long black hair became less shiny, rougher. Terisas stood before him.  
  
The man walked over and picked up Viteros by the collar and lifted the struggling fighter in the air. "Thought you could escape from me, hey, Vit?"  
  
"Urg…what? No…Master Terisas!"  
  
Terisas threw Viteros down to the floor and walked over, with a blade forming incredibly, impossibly, out of the air and collecting in his hand…  
  
Suddenly, Viteros felt a sharp pain in his cheek.  
  
----------------  
  
He jumped up. He was on the floor, grabbing his throbbing cheek in pain. "What!?"  
  
Sephira was shaking her hand. "You went into seizures or something of the like. Then you started talking to yourself."  
  
"Some people talk when they sleep," said Viteros, rubbing his cheek. "Did you slap me?"  
  
Sephira shrugged. But then she got more serious and said, "No, you say talking, simply talking. But I speak of actually talking to yourself like two people having a conversation. 'Thought you could escape, Vit?' 'No…Master Terisas!' like that." Sephira had made her voice a surprisingly good simulacrum of his and Terisas' voice…which only meant Viteros himself had been talking in Terisas' voice.  
  
Viteros seemed to be chilled by the news. "Well then, he's still kind of alive in me. So what?"  
  
Sephira narrowed her eyes and looked at him with anger. "So what? So what!? Do you have any idea of what this madness you speak of could do? Hamper our plans forever? You are a fool, Viteros!"  
  
He grinned with little humor. "I think we've been over that."  
  
Zidane walked over and averted the potential crisis. "Fighting won't help anything! Anyways, down to business, we need to concentrate on what's happening right now for the moment!  
  
"The Reverse Doll worked perfectly. There is a carbon copy of Viteros, at least physically, hooked up right now and sending false readings. Meanwhile, we need to get out of here! It seems that Viteros is now capable of moving again, and…hey, what are you doing?"  
  
Viteros was looking upwards, sighing. When Zidane spoke to him he turned and said, "Oh? What? No, I've already heard this…"  
  
Zidane shook his head and said, "So right now we need to get out and-"  
  
"…Hopefully get back into the airship with my friends, and Kuja too." Finished Viteros. "I really, really should have saved…I so hate hearing conversations twice…"  
  
"You are, singularly, all of the weirdness of everyone I have ever known put together," said Zidane, glaring at him. "Are you done?"  
  
"Are you done?" said Viteros at exactly the same time. "Sigh…"  
  
Sephira walked over and slapped him. "If you could be serious for a moment?"  
  
Viteros shook his head, rubbed his cheek, and muttered something like "I can take a sword to the stomach but not a slap…"  
  
Finally he said, "Let's get going then. And, you two, please tell me if you see a moogle."  
  
Zidane peering around a corner said, "Sure thing." Then after a little while he slowly walked around the corner, the two following close behind. Viteros' body seemed oddly relaxed and loose; Zidane knew from fighting experience that this was probably just his way of letting off battle adrenalin. Sephira, while not as loose as her companion, seemed very calm for the situation.  
  
They passed through the prison again and Zidane noticed Odine and Garret's cage was empty. As if to answer his unspoken question Sephira said, "I had set the two free when I passed by."  
  
They could all see that she didn't use a key, in any case…the bars were twisted and melted and there was a faint smell of burning in the air.  
  
Suddenly, a patrol came by. A group of soldiers wielding swords and guns, they shouted, "Halt!" and ran towards them.  
  
Viteros grinned and cricked his neck. "A nice stretching and warm up…"  
  
Sephira smacked him in the back of the head. "Are you insane?"  
  
"Probably," he responded. "But I'll die happy. Come on!" He extended his left hand towards the oncoming soldiers; there were quick bangs and flashes of light and a few fell.  
  
Zidane looked at Sephira and said, "We don't have time for this! Vit's attracting way too much attention…"  
  
"I concur," said Sephira, looking with some annoyance at Viteros. "Perhaps the sedative administered to him is having an adverse effect on his brain…we need to get to Kuja's room. I shall fix this dilemma."  
  
Sephira put her hands out in front of her and stared at a spot on the floor. Zidane wondered what was happening…then a few seconds later, smoke exploded from the tiles, obscuring their movements. Acting quickly, they went and grabbed Viteros and ran through the smoke down a hall. After a few turns, they ended up in front of a large metal door.  
  
Viteros ran a hand through his hair and shook his head-it was more like a twitch, though. He looked at the door. "I assume…?"  
  
Sephira nodded. "This…is Kuja's room."  
  
Zidane smiled and opened the door. Glad to get to someone else who was also in the know about this ship, maybe a bit saner that Viteros too…that would be a bonus.  
  
They walked into a smallish, metal-paneled room. It was nearly bare, and so seemed very open despite the real size. There was just a low bed, a desk, a mirror, a chair, and a closet. Nothing much, as if the man who lived in this room had no past…  
  
Slightly chilled, Zidane walked in and sat on the chair next to the desk. It was hard and wooden, and had a perfectly straight back. Sitting in it was like torture. He leaned forward.  
  
"Sooo…what now?" he asked.  
  
Viteros walked in, stretching and fell on the bed. He relaxed and smiled until he saw Sephira's look. He looked around and slowly got off the bed, tugging the sheets to smooth out the wrinkles he had made. "Oh, uh…sorry…sorry…"  
  
Looking down at Viteros with some satisfaction, Sephira slowly walked to the bed and sat on it, looking out a window. They heard her mutter quietly to herself, "Kuja…where are you hiding?"  
  
Viteros, leaning against two walls in the corner, said, "I think I…uh…need some clothes…" he gave a pointed look at Sephira.  
  
She looked back and said, "Well, then, go get some!"  
  
He furrowed his brow. "I can't just skip down to the laundry room and just grab an extra set of Genome clothes, can I!?"  
  
"That is why you do not go down there! You shall stay here!"  
  
He gave her a 'what are you, stupid?' look and said, "Well, then…I can't just run around almost naked…so WHAT WILL I WEAR!?"  
  
She gave him back a 'no, but you are a complete idiot,' look and said, "Please use that thick brain of yours, Viteros. And to think until now I thought you were smart."  
  
She stood up and walked over and gave him a light slap, which turned his head in the direction of Kuja's closet.  
  
Viteros held that position for a few minutes until it dawned on him. "Oh, no."  
  
Sephira started pushing him towards the closet. Viteros fought back, kicking and flailing. "NO WAY!"  
  
Sephira kept pushing him, resolutely. "You…have…to…put…those…on! You…cannot…just…walk…around…almost…naked!"  
  
"Even if I put that on, I WILL be almost naked! I'm…not going to…ow!"  
  
Zidane had just smacked him on the back of the head. "You just put those on! We need your disguise!"  
  
Viteros rounded on Zidane, which made Sephira knock him over into the closet. A few clothes flew, the sparse garments that Kuja wore. He stood up and pointed at the clothes like Satan himself had come and made them. "I'm not wearing those!"  
  
Zidane shouted, "But you have to!"  
  
"Why don't you! And…and I'll wear your clothes!"  
  
"What!?" Zidane leapt backwards, holding his shirt. "No! Anyway, my clothes don't fit you!"  
  
Suddenly, Sephira came up behind Viteros and grabbed his neck. Suddenly, he couldn't move his arms or legs.  
  
"Sephira! No! Doooon't!"  
  
After trying to wrestle the chest part over Viteros' head, Sephira finally gave up and put her hands on her hips. "Listen, Viteros, if you are not going to wear these, then fine! Fine!"  
  
Viteros turned around, breathing a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. Really?"  
  
Then he saw the Dream Powder in Sephira's hand. "Oh, no."  
  
Sephira grinned wickedly. "Oh, yes."  
  
----------------  
  
He had a very strange dream. Viteros dreamed he was walking down a long, twisty tunnel with llama paintings on the walls. As he walked his clothes slowly changed…and changed…until it turned like Kuja's…then he met a giant Kuja, laughing at him…  
  
----------------  
  
He woke up gasping for breath.  
  
Then he saw Sephira sitting, a bit winded, on the table, looking at him with her head cocked to one side with a sadistic smile. And Zidane sat in the chair still, his hand in front of his mouth. Viteros could bet he knew why…  
  
To try to calm his breathing he put his hand on his chest…and drew it away as fast as he could. He looked back up at Sephira, not daring to look down at himself.  
  
Speaking very slowly, Viteros said, "You…did it…didn't you."  
  
Sephira nodded with a grin.  
  
"You…did it…you!"  
  
Sephira clasped her hands together and made a happy face. "But you look so cute!"  
  
Viteros stood up, feeling uncomfortably cold. In fact, he felt out of control everywhere. "You're mocking me, aren't you?"  
  
She got off the bed and looked at him like he was a bug. "But of course."  
  
Crossing his arms-in front of his now exposed stomach, not his chest- Viteros tried to say seriously, "All right, then. First hurdle has been leapt. Now what?"  
  
Sephira was serious again. "Now we find Kuja."  
  
Viteros suddenly snapped his fingers like he got an idea. "Hey! I can't wear this! It's because I don't look like Kuja! Garland would recognize me in a second!"  
  
Zidane shook his head. "No such luck for you, Vit."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Zidane held up a tiny hand mirror he found in the desk. "Take a look. Sephira really knows her magic."  
  
Viteros looked in the mirror and it was a good thing he was standing by the bed, because otherwise it would have shattered when he dropped it. "Oh, no. No, no, no. I look like Kuja!"  
  
"That is correct," said Sephira, "but you do not behave half as dignified as he does."  
  
"Sorry, highness," said Viteros, angry. "Well, it's time to go out and find our prince charming. I want to get back to being myself as soon as I can."  
  
Zidane pointed into the closet. "By the way, Viteros, there was a moogle in there. You might want to 'save' or whatever it is…hey, keep a separate file so you can relive this!"  
  
Viteros walked over to the closet and said, "Overwrite this file. Yes, overwrite it…you stupid animal, I said overwrite! I don't want to remember ANY of this."  
  
"And now shall we move on to more pressing business?" said Sephira, annoyed. "We must get to work and finish the operation."  
  
"And that is…?" asked Zidane.  
  
"Put simply, our immediate objective is to locate Kuja," she replied. "We must find him, as the whole plan hinges upon all of us being present. As I anticipate little trouble from the mindless Genome soldiers, who we must really be careful of is Garland."  
  
"Who's Garland?" asked Zidane.  
  
Viteros answered that one. "Besides Terisas, he's the big boss. El uno. The top enchilada, the big cheese. The supreme-"  
  
"You know," put in Sephira, "it sickens me to see words like that come from Kuja's mouth with Kuja's voice…"  
  
"Can it, Your Worship, I'm going through enough-"  
  
Viteros was cut off, he had gotten slapped again.  
  
"But moving on to more…relevant things," said Sephira, "we need to make sure that if we run into Garland or someone looking for you two that Viteros must act like Kuja!"  
  
"Wait," said Viteros, putting up a hand. "Tell me how, how, how, how…how are we hiding Zidane?"  
  
"Zidane," said Sephira, "will be the distracting force that we require."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Garland already is suspicious of Kuja and I, and therefore will find it strange that we walk down the hall with no discernable purpose. Should the need arise, we shall have Zidane make an appearance, and then we shall pursue him."  
  
"Sounds like a bad plan to me," said Viteros. "I don't think ANYBODY would get fooled by such an idiotic idea…"  
  
"First thing we need to do, though," said Sephira, ignoring the comment, "is to have Viteros learn how to act like Kuja, so that no one is ever suspicious. Do you understand?"  
  
"Got it," said Viteros, now lounging on the bed, "Got it completely. Absolutely. Now…so…what do I have to do?"  
  
"First, you need to walk more like him. Move like Kuja. Fluidly, relaxed."  
  
"I'm already relaxed."  
  
"No, you look like you are ready to kill someone."  
  
"I look like Kuja, for the sake of the Devil! How can I relax!?"  
  
Zidane put in quietly, "But you said that you were-"  
  
"AAARGH! I'm going crazy!!!"  
  
Sephira ran over and slapped him. "Are you all right?"  
  
"Yeah…thanks, that really was needed…phew."  
  
"So, going back to what is important…you need to walk like Kuja."  
  
Viteros got up and walked across the room. "Like this?"  
  
"Keep the confidence, but…um…"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I am not sure exactly how to say this…ah…sway more."  
  
"SWAY!?"  
  
Sephira was getting angry, now. "JUST DO IT!!"  
  
"Okay, okay!" Viteros walked slowly across the room, trying to be like Kuja. "Like this…hey, stop laughing!"  
  
"I can't help it," said Zidane, who had fallen off the desk but didn't care, "the spell wore off! You look like yourself!"  
  
Viteros uttered a few choice words. Then he said to Sephira, "You can put the spell on again, right?"  
  
"Yes…however…"  
  
Viteros looked upwards and lifted his right hand in quick prayer. Then he looked back down and said, "You're going to ruin my life, aren't you?"  
  
"I believe you will be punished for your earlier reluctance, Viteros. I'll put the spell back on when we leave. Now…walk!"  
  
----------------  
  
A few minutes later the door opened, and, to the casual observer, it would seem that Kuja and Sephira walked out and down the hall, apparently on high alert. Then a little while after that, a little guy in a hood with a tail came out. Despite Viteros' pleas to the contrary, having him and a Kuja or having THREE Kujas on board were not going to work out…especially if they ran into the REAL Kuja… 


	6. Chapter Six

Viteros demands reviews! So do I! Review!! Or else we shall be forced to send Angel out to get you! And you don't want that...  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own FFIX. Squaresoft does. Praise be to them! We own our characters, though.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Kuja stumbled down the corridors, unable to see. Apparently, to halt his pursuer, Angel-Black had guttered the torches and now the hallways were filled with darkness. Kuja was too weak at the present moment to cast a light spell, so all he could do was feel the way with his hands.  
  
"Angel! Come back here! I am not finished yet!" Kuja cried, beginning to feel desperation rising in him. He would collapse soon, he knew it was inevitable. His face was bleeding, he was exhausted and in pain. He had to stop the seraph before he passed out.  
  
"I believe you may be. For I am not blind, as you are, in the presence of such darkness. You see, I was born to shadow."  
  
Kuja cried out as Angel's face appeared in front of his own, the light of Angel's magic throwing eerie shadows over his face. Kuja stumbled back, frightened, then recovered, his eyes narrowing dangerously.  
  
"You cannot, nay, will not, defeat me. I am the Angel of Death."  
  
"I never knew an angel of death to be so pathetically weak," Angel remarked casually, leaning against a wall, examining his nails, which appeared as though they had never seen battle or blood. Taking the index finger of one slender, pale hand, he ran it over his other palm, tracing his life lines.  
  
"I am not weak," Kuja hissed, wiping more blood from his face and snarling. Angel went far beyond simply annoying.  
  
"Oh, but you are."  
  
"Give me a reason!" Kuja snapped back, nearing the end of his temper. Taking a deep breath, he suddenly felt the exhaustion again and leaned against a wall. Angel laughed a little.  
  
"Do you not understand? I beat you, so therefore I am stronger." A small twitch of pain and sorrow passed over his face, quickly stanched by his otherwise cool and calm composure. "And since he says that I am weak, that must mean you are more weak than I."  
  
"Who is...'he'?" Kuja asked, intrigued, his curiosity rising. Angel turned to him and Kuja backed away, frightened of the animosity he felt coming from Angel.  
  
"You need not interfere in my business!" he snarled, taking Kuja's collar and lifting him from the ground. Kuja struggled, his strength failing once again. He was not physically strong, only magically. This being had both physical and magical prowess. His sorcery probably was more than likely stronger than Kuja's at the moment, due to Kuja's utter exhaustion.  
  
"Please...Please..." Kuja gasped, trying to breath, gagging at the same time.  
  
"Tell me where the Angel is!"  
  
"I do not...know..."  
  
"Tell me where she is or I kill you here! I cannot fail again!"  
  
Angel threw Kuja to the floor and stood over the pale, huddled, shaking Genome. Kuja winced when he heard the sound of the blade being unsheathed.  
  
"Please...I swear...I do not know the whereabouts of Sephira at the moment."  
  
"Would you tell me even if you knew?" Angel blinked a couple of times as he saw the expression in Kuja's face, which was a mix of sorrow, pain, terror and love.  
  
He shook his head. "No," Kuja whispered, then glanced down again.  
  
Angel snarled, sheathing his katana, then Kuja saw that his pale, slender hands clenched, going, if possible, even whiter. Angel cried out and pounded a fist against the wall, then turned and took off at a run. Kuja staggered to his feet to follow.  
  
Realizing that he couldn't move any longer, Kuja collapsed to his knees, crying out in desperation. Leaning forward until his forehead touched the cold metal ground, he gave into his sorrow and despair, sobbing in hatred at the seraph, who kept running.  
  
"I will not let you!" Kuja shouted, enmity laced into his every word.  
  
Angel, at theses words, halted and turned, gazing down the dark hallway where a bright reddish-pink light lit up the immediate area around it. Realizing it was Kuja, Angel arched an eyebrow.  
  
Kuja stood, stumbling a little, then regained his composure. Glancing down at his hands, which were laced in a red glow, he gazed at the rest of him. He seemed to have merged with the clothing he wore over his chest, the fabric still there, but it ran into his skin. The train which had covered his backside was in tatters and the cloth which had covered his arms was shredded almost to pieces. Most of him was covered in coppery feathers and, when his ran a hand over his face and hair, he felt that many more feathers had apparently sprouted in his hair, which had also gone a coppery red.  
  
Angel watched as Kuja began to stride towards him, his eyes shut, as though he didn't need to see where he was going. He began to talk as he walked.  
  
"Do you know what has happened to me?" Not waiting for an reply, he answered his own question. "It is called Trance. It is brought on by a strong surge of emotion, be it anger, hate, love, despair. You caused all of these emotions to surface, so now you must pay the consequences. You are seeking to harm someone I love, the only one in this world I trust." He halted in front of Angel, a hand resting on his hip, almost as though he were mocking the seraph, who was slightly shocked by what was happening around him. Angel-Black was a little nervous because of the fact that Kuja still had his eyes closed, as though he were sure enough that he didn't need sight. He spread his arms a little, confidently.  
  
"Weak, you say?" Kuja remarked, a slow, small smile rising on his lips. Kuja's eyes suddenly snapped open, his smile faded and he fixed his eyes, which had gone coppery, on Angel's.  
  
Angel took an unintentional small step back, biting one of his lips in anxiety.  
  
"We shall see who is the weak one."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
They separated to cover more ground, and kept hunting for Kuja.  
  
--------------  
  
Zidane ran into a small room with a few soldiers in it. A few extremely large soldiers. "Uh, sorry…bye!"  
  
--------------  
  
Sephira ran down a hall, and was attacked by a group of Genome soldiers. Concentrating energy into a white ball of light, she fired and incinerated them, and then kept up the search.  
  
--------------  
  
Tripping over the cloth, Viteros-Kuja ran down the hall and fell. "This is so, so utterly not fair." Kicking and flailing, he got up only to hear the sounds of shouting and the unmistakable sounds of combat.  
  
--------------  
  
Zidane, setting off a smoke bomb to escape the soldiers, suddenly ran into the middle of a melee. Staring, he watched as a strange figure with red, feathery hair fought an angel. Shaking himself, he shivered when he saw the determination in the red haired one's face and the dead rage in the angel's. Suddenly, Sephira ran up beside him, and Viteros on the other side of the hall.  
  
Sephira stared in amazement. "Kuja…?"  
  
The two, Kuja and the angel, fought hard, the angel wielding a massive katana blade, Kuja dodging and hitting with psychic blasts. They were evenly matched, with Kuja in his powerful state, but then suddenly-  
  
"Shadow Nightmare!"  
  
Everyone, even Kuja, flinched at the demonic sound of the dead voice and a huge, flaming blade whirled through the air and hit hard, dead center on Kuja's chest. He fell without even a groan, without even any blood.  
  
Zidane ran forward. He shouted at the angel, "Hey! What do you think you're doing!"  
  
The angel turned his baleful glare at Zidane, and he involuntarily gasped. The magenta eyes were filled with hate, rage, and pure sadistic pleasure.  
  
"What? It should be obvious what I am doing…"  
  
Zidane was about to shout a challenge when he heard Viteros' voice. "Angel- Black! You business is with me now!"  
  
Angel whirled to face Viteros, back as himself and back in his black cloak. "Remember me, Angel?"  
  
Angel smiled. "I remember you, Devil Nine."  
  
Viteros stepped forward, fist raised. "And do you remember Outer Heaven 3?"  
  
The man smiled even wider, the insanity reflected in his eyes. "I remember. You are worthy of your name, Devil. But do you remember that you couldn't ever beat me?"  
  
Devil raised his right hand, his 'normal hand', and Zidane could see that it was now also sheathed in metal like the left, but completely. Long, sharp, cruel claws glinted at the ends of his fingers, and Viteros growled, "I was under handicap then. You can defeat him, but can you beat me, in your weakened state?"  
  
Angel merely waved his hand lightly through the air and flame slammed into Viteros, sending him flying. Angel laughed and stood there, completely relaxed, hand on his hip. "You cannot beat me! Neither can your allies! And you overestimate your self importance, Devil Nine…"  
  
Angel walked over to Sephira and stood over her, as she crouched on the ground next to Kuja. He smiled and turned back to Viteros. "This is what I'm after. You, Devil Nine, are completely unimportant, a mere obstacle."  
  
Viteros smirked. "A mere obstacle, Angel-Black? An obstacle? Perhaps I am merely an annoyance, but that one," he said as he pointed at Zidane, "and those ones," he said, pointing towards Kuja and Sephira, "they are the ones who will defy you, overcome you, defeat you, and send you off to be consumed by time. You, on the other hand, are little more than a psychopath. Like a cruel child with a gun."  
  
Angel shrugged, but still grinned. "Perhaps. Maybe so, maybe I will be beaten. But I -will- kill you first. I can kill you right now!"  
  
Viteros narrowed his eyes. "Don't delude yourself."  
  
"I know you think I'm being foolish, but I'm right. I know your exact chemical makeup, down to the smallest cell in your body. Every single DNA strand of yours and hers are completely part of me! I know part of the DNA of them as well," he said, referring to Zidane and Kuja, "I know all your weaknesses! I know everything about you. Like you would say back among the Khamrask, knowledge is power, Devil, and I knew it then, I know it now. You cannot-"  
  
Viteros spat at him. "Don't delude yourself, Lashramakogosk."  
  
Suddenly, Angel's relaxed face narrowed into dangerous anger. "Never call me that."  
  
"What, it reminds you of the past, Lashra? Are you afraid?"  
  
"Don't call me that!"  
  
Angel ran forward and backhanded Viteros, who merely fell and stood up, still grinning through a bleeding mouth. "You think you can do better, Lashra? You weakling?"  
  
Angel screamed in rage and lifted his hands, and suddenly a spectral, glowing violet blade appeared in his hands and he brought it down on Viteros, who dodged and still smiled. "You missed, old friend."  
  
This time the seraph merely opened his hand in his enemy's direction and a blue bolt of energy arced through the air and hit Devil, who flew and this time shouted in pain, unable to repress it.  
  
He stood up, wiping his mouth, the blood staining his hands and arms. "Good job there, but now it's my turn. Auto fire."  
  
Angel's eyes widened slightly in recognition and he quickly dodged, jumping through the air, as Viteros' metallic metal hand came out and jumped wildly as it shot at his opponent. The banging noise was loud and painful, the smell of fire in the air, and the walls were riddled with bullet holes, but still Angel wasn't hurt at all.  
  
Zidane, mesmerized by what was happening, was brought back to the present when Sephira shook his shoulder and shouted over the gunfire, "Help me get Kuja to safety!"  
  
Grabbing Kuja by the feet while Sephira gripped his shoulders, they quickly took him away, or tried. But then Kuja himself waved to them weakly. "No, wait...we need to see this…"  
  
"Why? We have to get you to-"  
  
"No…watch. We need to watch. We need to see how strong he is."  
  
Viteros was still shooting, and ran forward. "Die! Do you think you can escape from the best hunter in the business?"  
  
Angel spun, dodged, ran forward, and slammed a brutal kick into Viteros' stomach as he passed. "Former hunter, you mean."  
  
The only sign of the pain was gritted teeth, Viteros spun to follow with the gunfire. "No, I mean hunter. All of your ideas follow the path of complete destruction, with no thought for consequence. While I, Lashra, think of what could happen. We were both to be stealth killers, you know it."  
  
Angel stopped and stood there smiling. "No, Viteros, I don't think so. We are both capable, but are we meant to be that way? We were both born in shadow, one to ascend to divinity, one to sink below darkness. You call yourself a stealth killer, but then why did you make that massive, audacious attack on the Invincible with the sliding down the cables and all that? Kind of theatrical, wouldn't you say?"  
  
Zidane felt a chill, and Viteros seemed to reflect his thoughts. "How long have you been watching us?"  
  
"Who do you think attacked that little village? Who sent Terisas' soldiers to reclaim the lost, elusive prodigal Devil Nine?"  
  
"So…you want me back?"  
  
"Once again, you overestimate your importance. You are the only one in possession of the last copy of the Devil Agenda book. We don't need you personally. Remember the cloning operations that you destroyed at OH3? Did you forget Outer Heaven 2, or 1, or…what…8?  
  
"Eight?"  
  
Angel grinned and crossed his arms. "That is correct. Eight. No more, no less. I don't think you could ever destroy them all."  
  
"And why are you telling me this?"  
  
"Well, we have to be fair…"  
  
Viteros laughed. "Fair? Fair? Since when did war have rules?"  
  
"Every game has to have some rules. And this is the best one yet!"  
  
"Game…"  
  
Angel turned and walked to a wall. He turned his head, still smiling. "Well, it was fun catching up. Ah…Devil? You should probably explain the situation to them…"  
  
Viteros growled and leveled his still-smoking gun. "I don't think so. You didn't fulfill your objective, Angel-Black. Doesn't that make this mission a failure?"  
  
"What, you want me to take her?"  
  
Viteros' smile was back and he steadied the gun with his other arm. "Just try." 


	7. Chapter Seven

Hum hum hum. Sorry we took so long. My brain has just been on stop because I'm doing finals. Vit's been writing (-_- to him) but I've been dead. Oh well. School's over!!! ^_________^  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own anything having to do with FF9, though we wish we did. ^_^ Our own characters are our own creation. And we have rights to ourselves! ^_~  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
~Part Seven~  
  
Kuja watched in fascination as Viteros challenged the seraph. He frowned a little, though. What would Angel want with the young woman at Kuja's side?  
  
"Sephira?"  
  
"Yes, Kuja?" she asked, worry filling her voice. She gripped one of his hands and gazed into his eyes.  
  
"Do you know him?" he questioned, referring to Angel, who had begun to battle with Viteros. Kuja winced as Viteros cried out in pain. Tearing his eyes from Sephira's, he watched for a moment as Viteros back flipped up from the ground, then instantly pivoted on his left foot and drove his right into Angel's stomach. Angel caught the foot in his hands and spun the Devil, causing Viteros to lose his balance and crash to the floor once again. He seemed to be fighting a losing battle.  
  
Sephira shook her head. "I do not believe that I do. But then..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I do not know anything of my life before I met you."  
  
"So you might have had some type of possible relation with him?"  
  
"Please, stop. I do not know!" she begged, her grip tightening on Kuja's hand. Kuja tugged at it, a little surprised at her strength. But then, it may have been born of desperation, as his transformation to Trance had been.  
  
Kuja returned his attention to the battle, not bothering to pester her further. Viteros spun and kicked, hitting his enemy hard in the head. Then he dropped and landed five more, two in the stomach, two in the chest, one more to the head. But Angel still kept coming.  
  
Then, suddenly, his heart started racing, as well as his mind. He had hurt his opponent, but not enough.what worked.suddenly, it dawned on him.  
  
Muscles tensed, Viteros stood still as Angel rushed toward him, blade raised, screaming in fury, and then just as he remembered.he backflipped, kicking Angel in the chin, throwing him onto his back. Viteros landed, jumped in the air, and landed with his foot on Angel's throat. Gripping it tightly, he lifted the man up and slammed him against a wall. The Devil grinned evilly and laughed out loud, his tone cold and merciless.  
  
"Remember that move, Lashra? Remember? Remember!"  
  
Suddenly, Angel looked straight into his eyes, and Viteros gasped, thrown back into memory again.  
  
------------  
  
"Doing good, Devil Nine. Very good. Your flip improves."  
  
"Thank you Master Terisas. I try my best."  
  
"And.Lashra, how are you doing?"  
  
"Heh.Vit gets better every time with that move. I can take him, but that flip.gets me every time."  
  
"Hmm.you'll have to work on that. And Viteros, you'll have to think of a way to deal with whatever Lashra dishes out for you!"  
  
"Yes, master."  
  
"Yes, master."  
  
"Weapon training now. Ready?"  
  
"Yes.my sword is here."  
  
"And Viteros? Your gun?"  
  
"Locked and loaded."  
  
"Ready.go!"  
  
---------------  
  
And I remember.that fight.we attacked each other, we were both good, and never gave an inch. Still.unless I resorted to that flip, he would win every time.except that time.  
  
---------------  
  
"Aaargh! My.my chest.my heart."  
  
"Heh. The best man wins, Vit. That's me!"  
  
"You.no.you! YOU!"  
  
"Vit? Vit? Viteros? What are you doing?!"  
  
"AAARGH!"  
  
---------------  
  
And that was the first time I changed. The first time I really saw why I am called a Devil. Power.power.so enticing, but the darkness.that undercurrent of darkness.always there.never fading.that was the power.always.  
  
---------------  
  
Suddenly, he was jolted back by movement. Viteros shouted and slammed Angel's head brutally against the wall, still holding his neck. He smiled. "I'm going to win this time." He didn't notice the red tinge in the white of his eyes. "I'm going to win, Lashra! I'm going to kill you!"  
  
Suddenly.  
  
"Vit!" Zidane.  
  
"Don't bother me Zidane!"  
  
"Don't kill him!"  
  
Viteros' voice was low and full of danger. "And why shouldn't I?"  
  
Zidane lightly thumped his fist on his chest. "Because I help people. I don't want you to kill him cold-blooded. I can stand and watch someone die on the end of a blade in battle, but I can't watch you kill him like this."  
  
"Zidane, you don't understand!" Viteros snarled, returning his gaze to Angel, who's eyes were wide and his face paler than normal. He gasped, weakly tugging at Viteros' metal hand.  
  
"Please..." Zidane begged. Viteros watched Angel, his eyes flicked to Zidane, then back to the magenta eyes of the seraph. Snarling, he yanked his hand from the wall and took a step back, giving Angel room to breath. The seraph fell to his knees, clutching at his throat.  
  
"You shall pay for that..." he hissed dangerously.  
  
Viteros rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You see what you've done Zidane?"  
  
Zidane didn't answer.  
  
Angel staggered to his feet, bracing himself with a hand against the wall. His other hand was still at his throat.  
  
"I shan't forget that, sir," he spat maliciously. He turned and stumbled off into the darkness of the Invincible's hallways, his wings rustling behind him. Viteros watched him leave, a calculating look on his face.  
  
"Zidane..." he hissed.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"You don't understand. I should have killed him. Finished our problems right now."  
  
"What danger could he pose? I mean, we beat him once, right?" Zidane asked cautiously, aware that Viteros' temper was rising dangerously.  
  
"You don't understand," he whispered through gritted teeth. Zidane flinched and drew away from the Devil, over to Kuja and Sephira, keeping quiet. Zidane watched Viteros out of the corner of his eye, with a little guilt. His actions had obviously had a very negative effect on the Devil. Viteros rolled his shoulders and swallowed, disgusted, almost appearing as though he were going to be sick.  
  
"Vit...?" Zidane questioned quietly.  
  
Viteros ignored Zidane and wiped a bit of blood from his mouth, licked his dry lips and turned to the others.  
  
"What did he want?" Sephira asked quietly.  
  
"You," was Viteros' simple reply. The Devil crossed his arms over his chest and shut his eyes, unaware of the blood still trickling from his mouth.  
  
"I beg your pardon?" Sephira whispered. "What, pray, would he want with me?"  
  
"You," Viteros repeated, licking the blood from his lips. He opened his eyes and pushed himself away from the wall. "That's all that can be said. You."  
  
"I do not comprehend."  
  
"Why does he want her?" Kuja asked, noticing that his companion was turning paler than normal.  
  
"Her."  
  
"Vit! Answer them!" Zidane yelled, growing weary of the repetitiveness of the conversation.  
  
"That is the only answer I can give." He began to pace, then turned and faced them, his face unreadable. "I don't know why. That is why I can't give you a complete answer."  
  
"Then why would he even come here?" Zidane questioned.  
  
"Because he wants her."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Have I not already answered this about a million times?" Viteros shouted, his patience snapping. "I don't have an answer, I can't give an answer, I can't even make an assumption until I learn more! I fact is that he wants her for some reason! Okay?"  
  
Sephira let go of Kuja's hand and stood. Glaring at Viteros, possibly for his lack of information, she crouched down again and took one of Kuja's arms, helping him to stumble to his feet. When Kuja had regained his balance, she left him and strode over to Viteros. Raising her hand, obviously to slap him, he caught her wrist.  
  
"I don't feel like being hit today, Lady Sephira," he remarked through gritted teeth. Glaring at her, still holding her wrist to restrain her, he commented, "I would watch myself if I were you."  
  
Sephira tried to tug herself from his grip, crying out in anger. Viteros threw her from him, passing by her with no regard as she braced herself against the wall, snarling at him.  
  
"Let's find someplace we can rest in peace."  
  
Kuja stood up and pulled them apart. He still sounded wearied as he said, "And that place would be.?"  
  
"Ipsen Castle.nobody goes there anymore. We can find refuge there for some time."  
  
"Then let's get moving." Viteros pulled a small metal object out of his cloak and punched a few buttons.  
  
Zidane walked over. "What is that?"  
  
"My remote-caller/receiver for my airship," the other responded. "Thanks to this I can control my airship from a distance. I'm sending it to Ipsen, it'll.'meet' us there."  
  
"Why don't we just ride it?"  
  
"I'm sure that by now Garland has all of his defenses up and running at full alert now," said Kuja. "Should the ship come near the Invincible."  
  
"Bang," said Viteros.  
  
"Boom," finished Sephira. "But Viteros, it would seem you have already formulated an idea of how to leave this place?"  
  
"That's where you two come in," he said. "I think you guys know how to use the teleporters?"  
  
"Of course," she replied. "But we can not just walk up to the machines!"  
  
"All that matters is that you know how to operate the things. We can take care of any resistance."  
  
Zidane looked around. "You sure are cocky."  
  
--------------------------  
  
They hurried to the teleporter entrances. Viteros looked at the blank holes and said, "These sure are weird little things."  
  
"Just get in," said Kuja, and they all jumped over the edge and into the blackness.  
  
---------------------------  
  
After a while, glowing, multicolored orbs floated near Ipsen Castle, where they turned into four figures.  
  
Viteros stretched. "Whoah, that's a rush."  
  
"Let's go," said Zidane.  
  
As they neared the doors, Viteros uttered a profound epiphany.  
  
"That's a big door.ow!"  
  
Sephira brushed off her hands and walked in.  
  
"Whoah.this is one screwed up place." Zidane walked past the group, looking around at the strange castle. "This place is just like a funhouse!"  
  
And it was. Really, it was. Inverted items, a chandelier poking straight up out of the ground, a table somehow sitting on a wall, twisted doors, a huge sharp poke down from the ceiling, which was probably an upside-down roof.  
  
"We should fan out," said Kuja, looking in all directions, "And look everywhere. No telling what little presents our friend Angel might have left us."  
  
"Or.Terisas."  
  
Zidane looked back. He didn't know who said that.probably Viteros, being grim again.  
  
"Hey! Look at this room!"  
  
Everyone went quickly, or as quickly as they could, to the sound of Viteros' voice.  
  
They all found themselves in an enormous dining room, with everything paneled with mirrors, a table covered in mirrors, the walls, the ceiling, the chairs, even the door and doorknob.  
  
It was a maddening sight, since mirrors reflected reflections of reflections again and again, so although the layout of the room was actually very simple, the simple view of it could drive someone insane. The only thing that wasn't a mirror was the food itself.  
  
Viteros sat in a glass, reflective chair and lifted a nectarine. "Good to eat," he said through a mouth full of fruit, "strange, its not gone bad, but Sephira said no one comes here. No dust either."  
  
"Perhaps we should not." began Kuja, but Zidane had already begun eating. Sephira and Kuja looked at the two with equal disdain.  
  
Sephira started, "You cannot eat of the food you merely find, particularly in a place such as this! I-"  
  
"Just eat," replied Viteros, handing her a mirrored spoon, "we've got to keep our strength up. What, the food's gonna be poisoned, or.?"  
  
He shook his head. "I've had way enough chemicals for one day."  
  
Suddenly, magnified like magic onto the huge, mirrored walls, they saw a black shape flare into massive being and then suddenly disappear. Viteros stood up, food forgotten. "What is."  
  
Suddenly, the whole room seemed to be filled with black, with swishes of silver. Bits of mirror.and blades.  
  
"Khamrask!" Viteros fired frantically. "Get out of here!" Shooting a last few defiant bullets into the mirrored chaos, he ran out himself.  
  
Everyone followed suit, jumping over knocked over chairs and thrown bits of food, dodging swiping blades and fists. They all went out the door except Zidane, who was about to leave when suddenly, someone kicked him in the crook of the knee, bending his leg involuntarily. Zidane buckled and then stood up on a weakened leg and was about to catch up when a swift, dark shape fell before him, throwing him back onto the floor with surprise.  
  
As the shape slowly stood up Zidane saw that it was a human, or at least humanoid, dressed in elaborate, large, purple silk. As the person stood up he saw it was a woman.  
  
Most of her face was covered by the violet silk cloth, all but her right eye, which was a soft, emerald green. The brown hair, which was tied close to the head, flowed freely behind her, down to her waist.  
  
"Who.who are.?"  
  
Viteros whirled, Sephira and Kuja stopped and turned just ahead of him. "Wait."  
  
"Greeting," came a soft voice from behind the cloth mask, "I am much enjoying for meet with you. Zidane, you are? This.Khamrask. Where Angel?"  
  
"Angel's not here," said Zidane, maneuvering himself up to his hands and knees, "I thought he sent you."  
  
The woman laughed lightly. "I hunt not man Angel! He, I, am serving same master. I hunt female Angel, only one. I hunting man Kuja also, man Devil, man Zidane. You Zidane. Where other rogue?"  
  
"I'm here," said Viteros, stepping back through the doorway. "You're Khamrask?"  
  
The ninja turned. "I Khamrask. You Devil man. I am much happy for meeting you with."  
  
Strangely, a thought went through Zidane's mind. ~What a strange person.she doesn't talk very well.and her eye looks very strange.a sort of glow.~  
  
Viteros crossed his arms. "So.what? Why do you want to meet with us?"  
  
"I am you searching," she replied, "I you.looked? Seen?"  
  
Kuja raised an eyebrow. "Found?"  
  
"Yes," said the woman, "Found. That right."  
  
Suddenly, out of nowhere, she produced a long sword. "Found I you. Found. Now, come you me with."  
  
Viteros threw an empty clip to the ground. He pointed his metal hand at her. "I.don't think so."  
  
"Choice.you.not."  
  
Suddenly, she leapt into the air. Everyone looked up in surprise. The thoughts ran frantically inside Zidane's head: No one can jump that high!  
  
She came down on Viteros, who dodged, spinning, and turned to kick her, but she dodged quickly away and ran back, sword held in front. Even while fighting, Viteros shouted, "Zidane! Take Kuja and Sephira! Check the Devil Agenda!"  
  
Zidane scrambled to his feet and followed the two, who were already stepping back gingerly. "We simply cannot leave him to-" Sephira began, but Kuja grabbed her and ran.  
  
The quick movements of the air and the bang of guns echoed through the halls. 


	8. Chapter Eight

Hurrah. Not much comentary here... Review!! Review, or Angel WILL HUNT YOU DOWN!!!! ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: Once again. we do not own anything having to do with Final fantasy IX or any other Square games. We have rights to our characters, though. ^_^  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- --Part Eight--  
  
Sephira cried out as Kuja took her hand and sprinted off. She stumbled the first few steps, then regained her balance. He dragged her along, leaping over things with a swift, but ungainly, agility she didn't know he had. He didn't seem like himself at all, and she marveled at his ability to be able to run, even though he had recently been defeated, rather violently, by Angel-Black.  
  
And they ran. Through twisted, warped hallways and through irregular doorways, Zidane leading the way. Sephira suddenly caught her foot on a rock and crashed to the ground, crying out in pain. Kuja skidded to a halt, her hand still in his, and he whirled and dropped to his knees, as he tried to pull her to her feet. His head whipped up to the sound of more gunshots that seemed to sound closer than before.  
  
"Please, I beg of you, get up. We need to escape while we can," Kuja pleaded, pulling her up so she was on her knees. She kneeled there, gasping for breath.  
  
"No, Kuja...I cannot run any further."  
  
"Please..."  
  
Zidane halted them by bounding in suddenly beside them and saying, "It's okay. We can stop. I think we've gained enough distance." He thrust his face close to Sephira's. "You okay?"  
  
"Of course I am," she mumbled irritably, dusting off her arms and discovering a couple of scrapes on them, as well as on her legs and midriff. Disgusted, she wiped some of the blood off and shrugged. Taking a deep breath, she staggered to her feet and leaned against the wall.  
  
They remained there for long moments, listening to the sounds of battle, Sephira against the wall, Kuja still kneeling on the ground and Zidane had stood back up and was rocking back and forth on his heels, as though he were agitated or impatient.  
  
They all jumped, startled, when they heard Viteros yell from wherever he was.  
  
"Damn you! Get down here where I can shoot you...um...properly!"  
  
Zidane arched an eyebrow and scoffed a little, despite himself. Sephira winced a little and she pushed herself from the wall and began to pace. Kuja straightened up and stood, watching Sephira for a moment, then turning to the sounds of the battle as he heard the Devil's wordless cry of anger.  
  
"I believe I may go and aid him," Kuja said softly, his chin in his hand as he thought. Sephira stopped her paces and stared at him, a desperate, lonely look surfacing on her face.  
  
"No, you cannot," she whispered. "You are still weak from the last fight."  
  
"But I can aid him. I can work my magic and maybe slow Viteros' opponent down long enough for him to stop her." He dropped his hands to his sides and moved over towards Sephira. Taking her shoulders, he stared down at her. She couldn't hold his gaze for long and hung her head, fighting tears.  
  
"You cannot," she repeated. "I do not want you to be hurt again."  
  
He didn't reply. Placing his nose on her head in a gesture of affection, he whirled around and dashed off, his tattered fabric flowing fluidly behind him.  
  
Sephira remained where she was, her head still inclined towards the ground, her fists clenched and Zidane noticed her shoulders shook. Moving towards her, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She shook him off.  
  
"Do not touch me," she warned venomously. Zidane backed away, his hands held up in a gesture of apology.  
  
"Okay, okay, calm down..." he replied, smiling nervously. She gave him a glare, her eyes red from tears and Zidane dropped his hands, then placed one on her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, he'll be okay. He and Vit can rock that ninja girl all the way back to where she came from!"  
  
"That is very comforting, in an deranged sort of way," she said with a little smile. Zidane left her side with a leap and struck a heroic pose, placing a hand on his chest.  
  
"Of course it is."  
  
Sephira arched an eyebrow at his antics, still worried beyond belief, but glad that Zidane was there to make things not as horrible as they seemed.  
  
----------------------  
  
~We received a message from Outer Heaven 1 this morning, and it told us that we must hurry and be quick about our genetic engineering experiments. Sadly, the relationship between Masters Garland and Terisas are beginning to sour, and so we must be ready for an eventual attack on us.  
  
We have begun more experiments, as well as production of soldiers, an emergency backup contingency.  
  
Professor Zarius began work on corpses and donated body parts, and has attempted to create an actual human being from these parts. Should this operation be successful, we will have a powerful new type of soldier on our hands, a temporary substitute for the currently incomplete Angel and Devil models.  
  
Hopefully within a few days we will be able to-~  
  
Zidane shut the book. They were not much in a better position than before.  
  
"No answers here," he said truthfully.  
  
"Then.how shall we win over this.person?" asked Sephira. Kuja had gone back.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"I do," said Sephira, suddenly sitting up. "I know! Do you remember the Shadow Bible?"  
  
"Who could forget such a creepy book?"  
  
"Perhaps.it lies within?"  
  
Zidane jumped up. "Yes.of course! Terisas and Garland got their inspiration from the book, so-"  
  
"Perhaps the answers are there!" said Sephira. "Where is the book?"  
  
Zidane pulled it out of his belt pouch. "Took it from Viteros."  
  
Letting his intuition guide him, Zidane opened the book to a random page and was amazed by what he found.  
  
~16. Verily I say unto you, it came to pass the shadow sorcerer Muridegl, raised by the dark god Vashcoriladus, even unto godhood, began the work called necromancy, even the corrupting of souls, yea, an exceedingly dark and shadowy control of the dead, undoing the eternal rest.  
  
17. And it came to pass the dark god Vashcoriladus, even the god of death, was displeased, and behold he said unto Muridegl Thou hast sinned against me and all of creation. Thy shadowy monstrosities art of great darkness, even an utterly unholy nature, even so as to repel the dark god himself! I, Vashcoriladus, thus say unto thee, thou hast failed in creation and life. And so, I pass this curse up unto thee-  
  
18. Thy dead shall not be mindless. They shall remember the life before, even their entire life, from dust unto dust. And they shall be troubled by the memories thereof, and they shall curse thee, Muridegl, and hate thee, and one day shalt consume thee. And so, even unto thou I lay this curse, and upon the day of thine own death thou shalt not die but be damned, even insomuch as to exist forever in a state of eternal misery.~  
  
"That's it! Their weaknesses are their memories!"  
  
"Wait," said Sephira, "How do we know of the nature of our enemy? How do we know she is of this undead army?"  
  
"I know.I just know. I.this book has a strange way of knowing what is going on." Zidane was completely serious.  
  
"I.I shall go along with this, considering our lack of a better plan, but I still have many misgivings."  
  
------------------  
  
"Die, die!" Viteros had drawn his katal claws, the sharp metallic claws inside of the machinery in his hands that would only be used as a final defense should his guns fail. She was simply too fast to shoot with the machine gun.and he was out of bullets.  
  
The dining hall was a wreck; glass shards, overturned furniture, and squashed food littered the ground. Over the wreckage they still battled, jumping nimbly over the obstacles in their way. Viteros was just beginning to tire; he could feel the edge of fatigue beginning to burn his muscles. But the ninja, it seemed, was just as fresh as ever. The Devil hid his exhaustion, and he hoped that his opponent was merely doing the same.  
  
He spun and slashed, cutting once more nothing but thin air. The best hit either of them had done was a rip to the clothes, and that rip was on him.  
  
Screaming in desperation, Viteros shouted, "Who are you!?"  
  
To his surprise, she answered. "You know I not?"  
  
They both leapt to opposite sides of the hall, and Viteros was gratified to see she, like him, was doubled over panting. "No. Who are you?"  
  
"Ha! Devil, I you disappoint! Remembering not Akumu Kage?"  
  
"Akumu Kage? Akumu.?"  
  
She laughed and straightened, hands on her hips. "You not remembering! Disappoint, Viteros, disappoint. I am you good memory having, thinking. And remembering not Ghosts Agents?"  
  
"Ghost Agents? Project Ghost?"  
  
"Good. Remembering. You remembering old life."  
  
"Old life? Old life? You call that nightmare life? When I had to work with people like you.and even you.you don't have any life at all."  
  
"Life figurative being. I, you, life choosing. That truth."  
  
Viteros stood up; he was done with this pointless discussion. He saw that Akumu did also. He lifted his clawed metal hand. "Let's finish this."  
  
"As you wish."  
  
They ran at each other, and Viteros felt the dark power growing inside of him. In this world he channeled Trance, although at this moment he'd much prefer a Limit Break.  
  
They made contact, each cutting at each other as hard as they could. Then they separated, both of them on a different side of the room. Viteros smiled and stood up straight. He turned, and so did Akumu. Then he stumbled.  
  
Clutching at the knife wound in his stomach, Viteros winced, one eye completely shut tight from the pain. The blood seeped through his fingers and fell to the floor, staining the mirrors. Suddenly, he coughed, and the blood sprayed from his mouth, and he collapsed on the floor, still coughing up more and more blood. His entire body trembled.  
  
Akumu laughed. "Born of blood, die of blood," she mocked. "You.urk.what this?"  
  
Beginning to pale, she looked down and saw on her unwounded chest a small metal square. She frantically tried to rip it off but couldn't. "No! You.S-Cutter!"  
  
Viteros, still laying there on his side, blood seeping, laughed quietly through his coughing. "That's.that's right, Akumu. I still have an S- Cutter. Remember those? The good old assassination weapon S-Cutter, the most painful way to die."  
  
Slowly, the S-Cutter began to whirl. Slowly, and then, faster and faster until it was a spinning metal disc. Then arced blades emerged from the sides, and the thing jabbed Akumu with a small needle, then detached.  
  
A small drop of blood on her chest staining the perfect black of her clothing, Akumu looked at the little floating machine. "This.this blood remembering?"  
  
Viteros had finally maneuvered himself onto his knees. One hand still clutched his wound while the other, trembling, supported him from collapsing again. Despite his agony, he managed a fierce grin, madness shining through his agony-stricken eyes and sweat-matted hair. "It'll remember your exact DNA sequence, Akumu Kage. And it'll come after you. It'll keep coming until you're dead. I'd say you're the one who dies by blood."  
  
The cutter slowly turned in the air until one sharp edge faced its target. Then, spinning faster, it tore through the air and towards her throat.  
  
Akumu dodged expertly, turning a no-hand cartwheel through the air and then jumping up and over debris with catlike agility, but the flying object still chased her.  
  
Suddenly, Kuja ran in. Looking around, he stood in the way of the ninja and shouted, "Do not move!"  
  
Viteros scrambled forward on his knees and yelled, "Kuja! Get out of the way!"  
  
The Genome looked over for a split second. "What?"  
  
Akumu ran forward and jumped high enough to land her foot on Kuja's face and leapt over him. Kuja groaned and stepped back, clutching his head.  
  
Then the S-Cutter hit him. It was just a small cut, not even ripping him, merely slicing a bit and taking some blood.  
  
But that was enough.  
  
The cutter floated there for a few more seconds, analyzing the blood sample it had taken. Kuja looked at Viteros. "What will this.?"  
  
"It'll try to kill you both," the Devil replied.  
  
-------------------  
  
Zidane and Sephira hurried through the strange halls, trying to find their way back to the dining room, but with no luck. There was just no way of finding anything in this madhouse. Finally, tiring of running in circles, Sephira focused inward, sensing life.she saw Kuja, colored yellow with fear, Viteros red with pain, and then the other.the ninja.  
  
Her color was strange.  
  
Unlike most, who just had a psychic color that belied some of their personality and situation, she was a strange meshing of many colors, and in the middle, an azure silver core.  
  
Most interesting.  
  
Coming out of the psychic vision she aimed at the wall she was facing and dissolved it with a fireball. "From now on," she said stepping through, "We go in a straight line."  
  
Zidane shrugged. "Works for me."  
  
---------------------  
  
Inside the dining hall was pure chaos. Akumu and Kuja frantically tried to dodge the flying S-Cutter and at the same time somehow defeat each other while Viteros desperately looked for any healing items-he was losing blood fast, and consciousness was drifting in and out. He shook his head, trying to clear it, but with this amount of blood out of his system there was no way he could win, and anyway, who was this-  
  
Bang.  
  
"Could it be? The one with the Special Break.Limit Healer."  
  
Viteros pushed himself up and stared. "No! It can't be!"  
  
He coughed and spurted up more blood. Then he forced himself to shout, "Aaeeris!"  
  
Sephira and Zidane arrived at that moment, suddenly, and Zidane leapt and cut the S-Cutter in half. He spun and faced the ninja, followed closely by Sephira, who had the beginnings of a fireball starting to ember in her hands.  
  
Viteros pushed himself up. His arm trembled. "Aeris!"  
  
Akumu turned and looked at him, and now that he had a good view, Viteros knew.there was no mistaking that soft emerald eye and the silky hair.only a Cetra could.  
  
"Its you! I knew it! Limit.urk.healer."  
  
Viteros collapsed again.  
  
"Aeris? And what that being?" Akumu stood there, confident, hand on her hip. "What you saying are? Aeris! Not but.not.aaaAAAAhHH!"  
  
Screaming, the enemy grabbed her head and staggered, finally tripping over a stray chair leg. She fell and still lay there, writhing, shrieking, then suddenly her entire body spasmed and she stopped moving.  
  
Still not sure about their safety, Kuja approached the still body, and Sephira was ready to burn it as soon as it moved. 


	9. Chapter Nine

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Part Nine  
  
Sephira inched towards the fallen Akumu, fire eddying in her hand. Kuja, behind her, wiped a small trickle of blood from his neck, his eyes fixed on the ninja for any movement, other than her constant twitches.  
  
Taking Sephira's shoulders, Kuja tightened his hands reassuringly and she smiled a little at him.  
  
Zidane knelt at Viteros' side as the Devil tried to move, coughing constantly.  
  
"Don't worry, Vit. I have a cure!" Zidane brought out a potion and forced Viteros' mouth open-it appeared the Devil did not want to take the potion- and poured it down his throat. Viteros hacked and spat half of the potion out.  
  
"What is in that?!"  
  
"It's a potion..."  
  
"What kind?!"  
  
"Um...a holy water?" Zidane said doubtfully, reading the label for the first time.  
  
"Do you know anything about potions?! Holy waters do not cure anything except zombie!"  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"Oh, gods, I feel really sick now." Viteros threw up his hands in exasperation and glared at Zidane. "Thank you. Thank you SO MUCH!"  
  
Zidane cringed and laughed a little uneasily, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um...I'm sorry?" he tried.  
  
Viteros simply glared and rubbed his temples agitatedly. Zidane left him alone and turned back to Sephira and Kuja.  
  
"So, what are we gonna do with her?" he asked, sitting cross-legged, holding his feet and rocking back and forth slightly, a small, happy grin on his face. His tail flicked behind him. Viteros took a hold of it and yanked it, sending Zidane bolting to his feet, clutching his tail to him.  
  
"What did you do that for?!" he yelped, tears stinging the corners of his eyes. He pouted and hugged his tail, looking the epitome of tearful innocence. Viteros laughed.  
  
"You fed me a sickening holy water. What did you think I would do?"  
  
Zidane sat down again in a tearful huff and continued to hug his tail close to him, glaring at Viteros, who grinned wolfishly.  
  
"Hush, you two," Sephira ordered, her eyes still on Akumu.  
  
"Sit down, lovely. She's not going to get up for a while," Zidane remarked, patting the ground beside him, one hand still holding his tail. Sephira arched an eyebrow, turning to face them.  
  
"Oh, really? The moment we turn our back, she shall be upon us. And then you will be sorry," she remarked smartly.  
  
"Your back's turned," Viteros stated. He watched with glee as Sephira turned an embarrassed red.  
  
"You are just having a wonderful time being cruel to everyone!" she shouted tersely, crossing her arms and sitting down. Viteros nodded, smiling. She scowled at him and turned her nose up. The Devil laughed as Sephira went, if possible, even redder.  
  
Her scowl deepened and she raised her hand and started to walk up to Viteros, who held up his hands and said, "Wait, wait.ok.I'll do It myself." and slapped himself. "Damn, that hurts."  
  
Kuja sighed and turned, sitting with his back to Sephira's, watching Akumu. He found arguing pointless, though he knew his companion reveled in it. Exhausted, he hung his head and rested his chin on his chest, closing his eyes.  
  
"Are we going to stay here forever?" Zidane asked, finally letting his tail go. If anyone noticed the little piece of fabric tied around the tip, they didn't mention it, to save the poor boy's already wounded pride.  
  
"Of course not," Viteros said, draping one arm over his single raised knee. "We take every last ounce of information in her brain from her, once she awakens, then we split."  
  
"I see," Zidane replied lightly, arching an eyebrow.  
  
They all sat in silence for a long moment. Kuja awoke to the sound of Akumu moving. He called a small orb of electricity to his hand and watched her apprehensively as she groaned, the only visible eye opening. Kuja, staring into it, could tell that it was very wrong.  
  
"Viteros..." he murmured, motioning for the Devil with his other hand. Viteros moved over towards them and kneeled by Akumu as the ninja sat up. Sephira, trying to be kind to their captive, so as to possibly get information more efficiently, helped Akumu up and steadied her.  
  
"Hello, Akumu. I am Seph-"  
  
Before she could finished, Akumu cried out at the name and jerked away, as though Sephira were a hot brick.  
  
Viteros looked over at Sephira, noting her puzzled expression.  
  
"I think you should leave for this. You're just going to get in the way."  
  
"But, why-?"  
  
"Just do it!" Viteros ordered, glaring at her.  
  
Dejected, Sephira stood and stalked away, her anger rising. Kuja stood to go and follow her, but Viteros ordered him to stay, telling Kuja that they would need all three of them there.  
  
--------------------  
  
Sephira, feeling very offended and confused, made her way through the twisted Ipsen to a larger room, not wanting to be anywhere near the others. She sat on a stone and crossed her arms, crossing one leg over the other. Muttering, she halted and glanced up, listening for the noise she believed she had just heard.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Good evening, dear angel."  
  
She jumped, startled, standing and turning around. Behind her, sitting cross-legged on the stone she had just vacated, was Angel-Black. He smiled up at her, his sharply handsome, yet mysterious face covered by the fringe of his black hair.  
  
"Angel!" she gasped, stumbling back a couple of steps. He stood and held out a hand.  
  
"Come with me."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I need you."  
  
She watched him, meeting his magenta eyes. Suddenly, she couldn't move. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move a muscle. She couldn't even speak. All she could do was breathe.  
  
His eyes still locked on hers, Angel moved towards her, wrapping his arms around her, breaking their eye contact. She could move again and she began to struggle.  
  
"Let me go!" she cried, trying to free herself.  
  
Remaining silent, he placed his index and middle fingers on her forehead lightly, smiling in satisfaction as she cried out in agony, struggling in vain, trying to wrench herself away from him. He began to laugh as she screamed even louder, finally dropping in a faint, one of his arms around her back. He held her limp body up, tracing his index finger over her face. Smiling, he gathered her into his arms and lightly thrust himself from the ground, borne into the air, flapping his six wings slightly, soft rustling sounds filling the air. The only trace of their being there was a single black feather on the ground.  
  
-----------------------  
  
Kuja heard her screams.  
  
"Sephira?" he cried, leaping to his feet. Ignoring Viteros, Kuja dashed in the direction Sephira had taken, fear rising in him. With a slightly apologetic glance at Viteros, Zidane jumped up and raced after Kuja.  
  
Viteros frowned, taking Akumu's wrist and dragging her to her feet, then following the others.  
  
Kuja searched through a couple of rooms, finally finding the one she and Angel had been in. He could tell they had been there from the black feather on the ground and the green feather resting on a large stone, obviously one of Sephira's.  
  
"Sephira?" he called, slightly alarmed by the black feather's presence. Zidane arrived and joined Kuja, calling out her name. When Viteros came with Akumu, he winced, seeing the black feather. Akumu, spotting it with her single, unconvered eye, began to laugh silently, her shoulders shaking.  
  
"Stop that," Viteros ordered, jostling her a little. She laughed out loud, the sound twisted and eerie.  
  
"Angel female is being his now! Never again her you see!" she giggled, calming herself slightly. Kuja, a desperate look on his face, took her by the shoulders and shook her violently.  
  
"Where has he taken her?!" he cried, his expression a mix of grief and rage. Getting no reply, he slammed her into the wall, his knuckles white from gripping her collar so hard.  
  
She met his eyes and repeated, much more softly, "Angel female is being his now." She shook her head, her eye never leaving his. "Never again her you see." She smirked a little and Kuja released her, stumbling back and falling to his knees, a bewildered expression on his face.  
  
Zidane placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. We'll get her back."  
  
"Of course we will," Viteros seconded, rounding on Akumu. "Listen. You are going to tell us right now, Aeris, or we will kill you. Tell us where he has taken her."  
  
"I none speak," replied Akumu, still slightly laughing, "he gone, she gone, you dead. No chance."  
  
"You sickening bit-" snarled Kuja, lunging forward. But he was stopped in mid-lunge and also mid-'bad word' by Viteros. Holding the angry Genome back, the Devil said, "She's no good to us dead."  
  
Zidane looked over and said almost casually, "Well, she's not a whole lot of good to us alive either."  
  
Viteros gave a dark half-smile. "Maybe.but I'm sure that there is more that she can give us."  
  
Slightly alarmed, Zidane moved a bit closer. "What do you mean?"  
  
"You forget.I was head of Khamrask. I was the best of the Devil commandos. I am an expert in many things.including torture." Viteros moved his face closer to Akumu's until it was barely an inch away. He leered. "There are ways to get water from the driest wells."  
  
Zidane almost shouted. "No torture! Viteros, we can't sink as low as our enemies! Kuja, you agree, don't you?"  
  
Kuja looked upwards, eyes wondering. "I am not sure."  
  
"Kuja!"  
  
"Zidane!" Kuja suddenly burst out, "There is no other way! We cannot find Sephira unless we make sure where she is, now! If we wait and just persuade her to tell us, Sephira will be long gone!"  
  
Zidane hung his head. "Guys, I can't believe you're doing this."  
  
Viteros looked back at Akumu. "Don't worry. I won't hurt her. I'll use another way."  
  
He walked up to her and grinned downwards.  
  
"Your memory is a lot better than mine, Akumu.you remember quite a bit that I don't. So I'm sure you remember the alternative methods of information extraction? Mental absorption?"  
  
Akumu suddenly looked angry and defiant. "No. You.you not!"  
  
Viteros' smile dimmed and his eyes clouded with dark determination. "Zidane, Kuja," he said, still looking at their prisoner, "Hold her down. Arms and legs."  
  
As the two nervously approached, they saw the ninja ready to lash out. Viteros cocked his hand-gun and pointed it straight at her head. "Just try."  
  
After Zidane securely held her arms down and Kuja her legs, Devil Nine was ready. He put his hand on his captive's face, his thumb on her temple and his smallest finger on the back of her neck, where the brain connected to the spinal cord. "You know how this works," he said, breathing low and menacing, "we make this fast and you don't struggle. Less chance of your death."  
  
"Come," said Akumu, smiling savagely. "You die."  
  
Viteros closed his eyes and breathed deeply. After a few breaths he opened his eyes, and in their place were the mismatched eyes of Akumu Kage. Electricity flickered in the air. His arm slowly started to tremble, low but stronger and stronger until the force was nearly forcing his shoulder out of its socket. Suddenly, in a flash, Akumu's eyes turned blue, Viteros' red, and the dark electrical currents tore through the air, leaving the sickening stench of burning oxygen, and over it all the screaming of the ninja's tormented face agonized their hearts.  
  
Viteros' knuckles were white, holding tight to Akumu's face, his teeth grinding, his whole body tense. In his focus he failed to see Akumu's arm slowly sneak around and quickly snatch his other arm, and brought it swiftly to the other side, to connect with her mind twofold.  
  
Contact.  
  
They both screamed, both in agony and in rage, and they were both thrown back while electric traces still floated in the strangely disturbing calm.  
  
Kuja walked over to Akumu, Zidane to Viteros. "Vit.Vit? Hey? What.?" The Devil's eyes were an eerie, unnatural pure white.  
  
"White eye?" asked Kuja, looking over. "Same here.psychic connection.what happened?"  
  
----------------------  
  
Viteros screamed.  
  
He was falling through a massive tunnel, ringed with tearing reds and blacks. Past him swirled images of horrible atrocities, murders, dismemberments, cannibalism, betrayal, sacrifice, torture.  
  
And at the end of the tunnel, a scene from his past.  
  
A massive metal cross, ringed with machinery. And none other hung upon the hideous mockery than the Devil Nine himself.  
  
He slowly approached it; he was back on solid ground again. Viteros looked around and saw he was in a desolate place, a place of death. Dead trees and patches of yellowed grass surrounded rusted, spiked metal gates, and a dense fog stopped him from seeing past his immediate surroundings, the sky above was dark and ominous, like a portent of the nightmares to come.  
  
Viteros looked up at the cross, as the image of himself hung upon it, moaning in sullen protest to the terrible torment he was undergoing, his hands stabbed into his grave, and the gaping hole in his chest where the Argus sword had pierced.long ago, when he had died the first time.  
  
Devil Nine shook his head. No use thinking about an old death when there were much more pressing matters at hand.  
  
Turning away from that shadowy vision of the past, Viteros shouted into the mist, "Akumu! Where are you! Show yourself!"  
  
"Remembering the past, old friend?"  
  
Viteros lowered his head, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. "Perhaps.but what is this to you?"  
  
"Because I suffered the same, Viteros," she said, and he could sense her coming closer. "I suffered the same as you."  
  
He halfway turned his head. "What would you know, Aeris?"  
  
He turned completely and he could see her, the sacred ghost, the last of the Cetra. Aeris stood there, looking the same as before. On that day when Sephiroth descended from the sky and ended her life, and nearly extinguished all hope for one Planet.  
  
"I know more than you think!" Aeris stepped forward, hands clasped to her heart, and her eyes shone with sincerity. "Viteros.don't think I've forgotten what you did with us before.how you helped me, and how you helped my friends.back long ago, back on the other world. I know you're a traveler of worlds, don't think you can hide that from me. But you need to know, your enemy Terisas is also a traveler, he is like you, and he plans to do here like what he had done before!"  
  
"Who cares!" Viteros caught himself yelling again, in rage. "Do you understand my plight? Do you understand my pain? Do you know what I have gone through, Cetra! This nightmare has been part of my life forever, this agony, and Terisas just adds to it! My pain is something you'll never fully grasp, something that will never be something you will ever understand. Strife stopped Sephiroth, but me, now, I'm here, on Gaea, and Sephiroth isn't the problem! The other Traveler is! And this-"-he pointed at the strange surreal world they were in-"-is just a waste of time! Why did you bring me here?"  
  
"I didn't," said Aeris, shaking her head. "Akumu did. And she wants you to see something."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Her pain, Viteros. What she, I have gone through."  
  
"Will it get me out of here?"  
  
Aeris gave him a pleading look. "Viteros.learn to care."  
  
"Will it get me out of here?"  
  
The Cetra hung her head. "Yes."  
  
Viteros turned away again. "Then let's see this."  
  
"I'm glad, Viteros." said Akumu, emerging from the mist as Aeris faded into it, "You'll understand, Viteros. You'll see."  
  
Some of the mist gave way, disappearing into thin air, and creating a tunnel surrounded by the dense fog towards a door. Viteros walked toward it, slowly, cautiously. He silently approached the door, and as he watched, the mist faded away, showing a massive house, a mansion, an old one. He could see that it was once a fine house, great and well kept, but now the place was dark, dilapidated. As the mist disappeared, more and more, he saw that as far as the horizon there was nothing but this wasteland, and in the black sky, obscured by clouds, a sickly yellow-green moon hung.  
  
Guns cocked, Viteros walked to the door and kicked it in. He walked slowly through the abandoned halls, thick with dust and cobwebs. The wood paneling was dimmed and dark, the paintings on the walls covered with a rich coating of dust, these and the gold chandelier, with half- melted candles still inside, the fine silverware in the massive dining hall, the oaken and silk chairs in front of the huge fireplace spoke of the long-gone finery.  
  
Then, he heard it.  
  
A low, quiet, tinkling sound, like a bell. A music box?  
  
Viteros followed the sound, silent, ready. The song.it was familiar.yes, it was a song back from his home. Greensleeves, sad and forlorn, but with a sweet quality.  
  
He found a door where it seemed the song was coming from. The door was locked. Viteros tore the gold-inlaid brass doorknob off and went inside.  
  
Inside Viteros saw a bookshelf, a few chairs, a small table with a candleholder and a candle on top next to a chair that was turned away. Next to the door he saw a small shelf, with pictures on top. He picked one up and looked at it.  
  
There was a family, happy, joyous, in front of the house. The trees were full and alive, the sun shining bright, the house new and nearly sparkling. The parents, a young woman and man, and three children, the biggest a little 10-year-old boy, a little girl around the same age, and a baby boy held in the hands of the happy, smiling mother.  
  
The photo was old and faded, and bits of spider web still clung to its rich, incredibly carved frame. Viteros blew on it and wiped away the cobwebs.  
  
Turning his attention back to the rest of the room, Viteros saw that the candle was lit.  
  
He walked over, gun ready. As soon as he neared it, he quickly reached out and spun the chair around.  
  
In the chair was the mother, her neck broken.  
  
Viteros looked at it, glaring. "What's this? What's this you're trying to pull on me, Akumu? Some cheap haunted house tricks?"  
  
Suddenly, it struck him. Greensleeves. That song was never heard on any other world but his own.  
  
Devil Nine hurried to the music box, which held a dancing couple and a picture of the laughing, happy little girl.  
  
Then behind him, he heard a moan.  
  
Instantly, Viteros turned and fired, blasting the mother's corpse right in the chest. The blood spattered, covering the room.  
  
Shutting the music box, he quickly left.  
  
------------------------  
  
Kuja looked down at the two hopefully just unconscious bodies. "What is this?" he wondered aloud.  
  
Zidane looked up and said, "We're not getting far just staring at them.we need to carry them both and find Sephira!"  
  
"I know," agreed the other, "But where to find her?"  
  
"Viteros' airship somehow went to Ipsen Castle by itself," said Zidane slowly, thinking. "Maybe it has the locations of many different places contained inside of it.we could find Terisas' home, and find Sephira!" Kuja looked down again. "It is a plan.grab Viteros, I shall take our guest. We are getting back on our friend the Devil's ship."  
  
-------------------------  
  
Viteros stalked the halls, angry. The groan had caught him completely by surprise and he had reacted badly, desecrated a corpse. But still the question remained.who had made the sound?  
  
"Tara.Tara, why are you doing this? Tara? What's that for? Tara? TARA!"  
  
"The kid!" Following the now wordlessly screaming voice of a little boy, Viteros burst into another room. And here he didn't need to investigate to find the body.  
  
A little boy's corpse hung from a rope, a knot tied securely around his neck. But what was important was that the body was slowly turning in the air, still moving to the sway of gravity and physics. The cadaver had recently been disturbed, at most a few hours ago.  
  
Before leaving, though, one thing caught his attention.a huge window in the far wall, facing out into what was probably once a full land, not this dead place. The window was broken. Maybe the killer got away; there was no way to find.  
  
"No!" he snarled angrily, aiming around with his gun. "Whoever you are, come out! Come out and face me!"  
  
"Mister?"  
  
Viteros stepped backwards back out into the hall and swung his gun towards the source of the voice. A little girl, standing there, hands clasped behind her back.  
  
She was strange, pale, with oddly colored gray eyes. She looked terrified.  
  
"You," said Viteros, still aiming, "are you Tara?"  
  
The little girl nodded nervously. "Yes.and who are you?"  
  
"Me? I'm just a wanderer."  
  
"Do you know what's happening around here?"  
  
"I'm afraid I don't, Tara.but maybe you do."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Tell me Tara, what's in your hands?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Show me."  
  
Slowly, afraid, she brought her hands forward to reveal a blood-caked knife.  
  
"Tara, why do you have that?"  
  
The little girl looked down at the knife in fear, as if she didn't know she had been holding it. "I.just do."  
  
Viteros aimed carefully. "Tara, give me the knife."  
  
"No! I need it to protect myself from.him."  
  
Viteros narrowed his eyes. "Who is.he?"  
  
The little girl broke down into tears. "He calls himself.Terisas."  
  
The Devil's heart stopped cold. "Terisas?"  
  
"Yes," Tara replied, sobbing, "He's my daddy."  
  
"Your father.is Terisas?"  
  
This time Tara didn't even reply, just fell to the floor, crying. But through her choked sobs he could hear some words, and began to understand. "A long time ago, my family was happy. We were all happy, and we lived in our mansion out here in the country. My brother really liked it here, because he loved to climb the hills and explore the forest, but I wanted to go back to the city, where all my friends lived, back there where the stores were and whenever I looked around I'd see people everywhere, and the big stone lady with her torch stood watch. But out here, there's nobody, except for my family. But now there's not even that.because one day.  
  
"About a week ago, my daddy went down into the basement and stayed for a long time. He had just found a book in the old library, and he just stayed down there reading. When I saw him go down into the basement I asked him if he would remember to read me a bedtime story that night, because he forgot the night before, and he just smiled and hugged me and said he could never forget.but that was the last time I saw him.  
  
"Then, one day, my mom died. We found her in her favorite chair, in the room where she loved to just sit and read. Then a few days later, I blacked out, and when I woke up outside, the window was broken my brother was dead too, in the room where he loved to just look out the window and dream. The window was broken, and there were little bits of glass in my arm, it hurt so much.  
  
"All that was left was me and my little brother Dario. I tried to keep him safe. I saw him every once in a while, that evil thing, that.that.monster." Tara broke down crying again, and lay there on the floor in a little miserable ball, crying and crying. Viteros knelt and put his hand on her back, and said quietly, "Tara, I understand what you're going through. And I know it's horrible. But I need your help to make it all better. Will you help me? Please?"  
  
Tara nodded, and through her tears continued. "I tried to keep my brother safe. But he made sure that we were always afraid.and one day I went to sleep and when I woke up, Dario was gone.and now he's trying to get to me too, but I found this knife in the kitchen and I've fought him off, but I'm getting tired.I'm getting so tired.and he never gets tired."  
  
Viteros stood up and said, "Tara, I'm here to help. Come with me and we can find out what's wrong, and maybe help your daddy."  
  
The little girl looked up with tear-streaked eyes and sniffed, "Where will you go?"  
  
"To the basement. Can you lead me there, Tara?"  
  
Tara stood up, and looked downwards, trembling. "I know you're afraid," said the Devil, "But we really need your help, Tara. I need you to take me there. Please."  
  
Tara swallowed and looked upwards. "Yes," she said finally, quietly. "Yes."  
  
She slowly led him through the twisting abandoned halls, and finally came to a large grand staircase that led downwards. "I'm afraid to go down there," she said quietly.  
  
"But you have to stay with me Tara. I can protect you."  
  
Tara looked at Viteros, suddenly with defiance in her eyes. "I've always taken care of myself." With that, she spun and ran off.  
  
"But Tara, wait!" but she was gone.  
  
Viteros slowly descended the staircase, which gradually got narrower and went from fancy marble to wood to stone, and all the while pushing lower and lower and lower.until finally he reached the bottom, a dark, dank place with a single door made of rotting wood.  
  
The Devil took one look at it and kicked it open, fanning his gun across the area.  
  
He had entered a laboratory, of sorts. Vials and a microscope and machinery littered the area; notebooks and papers were there with writing on it that Viteros could never understand. On the ground, drawn in some glowing blue writing, was a huge pentagram.  
  
But what caught his attention was a fine leather chair in a corner, with an open book on it. Viteros picked it up and saw it was the Shadow Bible.  
  
~67. And when thou shalt combine these, the substance of the Lords of Life, Light, Dark, Chaos, and Heart shalt thou understandeth thine own heart. For behold, when thou hast collected these, and hath made them together, inasmuch as one, thou hast the Flesh of Heart. 68. And verily verily I say unto thee, thou art cautioned, for the Flesh of Heart maketh the flesh of man as the heart thereof, and thou shalt assume the form of thine own heart, and become great man, or dark beast, for thy heart shalt be made manifest unto all as thine own face, thine own body, forsooth, thine own flesh. 69. Curse and wo unto thou who wouldst toy with such, for thou shalt suffer greatly under the hands of the Heavens. For thou, man, comprehendeth not the true power of Heart.  
  
Orisophos, the Traveler, Chapter 18, verses 67-69~  
  
"If this is what Terisas has been reading."  
  
Viteros came to understand at that moment. The man had read the Shadow Bible, been interested in what it said, created the Flesh of Heart, and had used it on himself. Perhaps he thought that he would become something great, a powerful god. He ended up a child-killing monster.  
  
Outside, he heard a rustling. There was another door, further down into the ground. This was where the sound was coming from.  
  
Not knowing what to expect, he thrust the door open and ran down deeper into the nightmares that weren't his.  
  
-----------------------  
  
On Viteros' airship, Kuja and Zidane were worried. There was really no way to operate the thing without knowing how.  
  
Searching deep into the surprisingly large area underneath a seat they found a thick book that said Flying Neo-R16 type Airships for Total Idiots.  
  
"I guess this is how to use this," said Zidane, looking down at the book. They both knew what they had to do, but the task was not for one with a feeble heart of lack of courage.  
  
"We have to read this," said Kuja. "It is near-impossible, but we shall try." Zidane glared at the book with hatred. "Yes. Let's do it." In the back of his mind he thought ~And I thought fighting against Gizamaluke was hard.~  
  
-------------------------  
  
Deeper into the dungeon, deeper into the nightmare. Viteros began to hear screaming voices, an inhuman roar that spoke of torment and hatred. At the bottom of the staircase, he hesitated. Should he continue he would meet this demon of darkness, this monster. Would he dare to ever even attempt to defeat this horrendous beast? If Terisas' body reflected his heart, then he would be a monster indeed.  
  
Knowing he wouldn't dare if he hesitated anymore, Viteros forced himself forward, gun out and scope searching. Then he saw the beast.  
  
It was currently stabbed into a wall, a massive spike impaling it through the torso, and another stuck through its throat. The monster must have been Terisas' soul made manifest.  
  
The creature was horrendous. The face was a sickening mass of blood, bone, muscle, and skin, with the single remaining eye almost hanging out of its socket; the other socket was filled in with a pulsating mass of flesh and blood vessels. The left arm was grossly massive compared to the right one and was covered in spines, misshapen and grotesque. A third arm arched up over the body, having come out somewhere in the back, and had sharp, large, curved blades cutting out of the flesh and the fingers had tearing claws extending from the tips. In the palm of this massive hand was a sharp- toothed screaming thing like a human mouth.  
  
Viteros stepped forward. "You! Terisas!"  
  
The writhing monster stopped its painful activity and fell from the spike, and lumbered forward. The mouth in the third hand extended a long, purplish, snakelike tongue that went over to and went over Viteros. Then a voice came from the beast, a voice inhuman and full of sadistic lust and sorrow.  
  
"Human.human blood."  
  
Viteros stepped back, gun still aimed. "That's right, human! You're out to kill us all, aren't you? You killed most of your family, didn't you? Come on! Come and get me!"  
  
The monster lunged forward, but before Viteros could fire the third arm suddenly swooped forward and grabbed his face. Kicking and screaming, Viteros struggled to get free as the mouth in the hand began to bite and tear at him. His gun fired frantically, shooting nothing but air. All the while the massive hand held tighter and tighter, the mouth screamed, and the air began to run out.  
  
"No," Viteros choked, as the mouth drew closer, its sickening tongue lazily wrapping around his neck, "No, it can't end like this."  
  
"Stop."  
  
The arm dropped the Devil, and he lay there gasping. Then he looked over beside the frozen monster and saw Akumu.  
  
"Akumu.this is what you went through?"  
  
"Yes," she said mournfully. "This is all that is left of my father, Terisas. He was a famous scientist, you know. Everyone thought he was a wonderful man, but ever since he got that accursed book."  
  
"And you," said Viteros slowly, "You.you're Tara, aren't you?"  
  
Akumu nodded sadly. "Yes, I am Tara. But unlike your fantasy nightmare that you have lived here, I did not leave. I went into the basement, and nearly had my face eaten. But I threw the knife at father's own face and managed to escape. However, I was then weaponless. When I was outside he found me and strangled and dismembered me.  
  
"But my disturbed father Terisas used my body. He used it to create a patchwork soldier after he came to Gaea. He combined it with the remnants of that Cetra and made me, not Tara, but a horrendous combination of people called Akumu Kage.Nightmare Shadow. With this new soldier he planned to have something that would tide over his power-hungry madness until the Angels were perfected.but thanks to you, they never were."  
  
"Akumu," said Viteros suddenly, "how is it you talk.uh."  
  
"Normal?" Akumu gave a small, bitter laugh. "In the world that you call the waking world, Akumu Kage is a mindless pawn of the dark lord Master Terisas, and she has no mind to speak of. That is why I can speak to you here but not in the real world, and that is why I cannot help you in the real world, only attack you."  
  
Viteros looked at her for a while. "I'm."  
  
Akumu idly waved her hand away. "No need for sympathy. Terisas has damned me to relive this nightmare over and over, to live in this haunted mansion, with no one but the long-dead spirits of my family for company, while my body tries to commit more sins on his behalf. It is Terisas who's fault this is, and it is he who you must destroy."  
  
Viteros nodded. "I will, Ak.Tara. I'll avenge everything that your father has destroyed for you."  
  
"Don't call him my father, Viteros," she said, shaking her head gently. "He was once my father, but no longer. All that is left is the monster called Terisas."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"It's time for you to return to the waking world, Viteros Ojikage, Devil Nine," said Akumu. "Viteros, you need to avenge the world of Terisas' atrocities. Go forth with strength."  
  
A cool wind surrounded Viteros, and he saw blue swirls appear before him, slowly swirling faster and faster, denser and denser. Suddenly, everything went white.  
  
--------------------------  
  
Viteros opened his eyes. Slowly getting up, he looked around. He was in the cargo hold of his airship, but it wasn't flying.next to him lay Akumu. She was still asleep. "Zidane!" he shouted.  
  
Zidane ran in. His eyes were bloodshot. "Viteros!" he yelled, "Vit, you're back up!"  
  
"Of course," he replied, slowly standing. "What were you doing?"  
  
"Uh.trying to fly the ship," said Zidane. "We-Kuja and me-knew how to fly the ship with your coordinant locator, but we didn't know how to take off."  
  
Viteros looked at him very closely. "You.push the red button that says 'takeoff', Zidane."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Viteros turned and picked up Akumu. "What're you doing with her?" asked Zidane, "Are you going to throw her off?"  
  
"No.she is a very unique woman. I'm just going to leave her outside the ship. Terisas and his cronies will find her and save her. As for us.we're going to Outer Heaven. To the cockpit!"  
  
He and Zidane quickly walked to the main bridge of the airship and Viteros sat down in the pilot's chair. "Sephira.we're coming." 


	10. Chapter Ten

Sephira: Fixed chapter 10! Yay! I'm so much more pleased with my part. *huggles it* Sugary sweet! ^o^  
  
Viteros: Blllaaahhh... -_-  
  
Sephira: *too happy to notice* ^o^  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own anything having to do with Final Fantasy. Beloved Squaresoft does. ^^  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------  
  
~Chapter 10~  
  
Sephira, her consciousness returning to her, even before she opened her eyes, knew something was wrong. Her arms felt tensed, stretched, and her feet connected with nothing. She felt disoriented. Opening her eyes, she moaned at the pounding in her head and tried to place a hand on her forehead, to find that she couldn't; her hands were chained at the wrists. She was suspended a foot off the ground, hanging.  
  
"Hello?" she called, listening as her voice echoed throughout the large, metallic room. Studying her surroundings, she noted the phials of some kind of green substance, test tubes, microscopes, and all other kinds of scientific materials.  
  
Glancing up as the door opened, her eyes narrowed. Angel-Black stepped into the room, a line of light coming from behind him, from the lit hallway. Smiling a bit, he shut the door behind him, crossing the room towards her.  
  
"Evening," he said simply, smiling at her. Sephira didn't reply to him, simply glared balefully. Angel laughed shortly and stood in front of her, grinning. As she continued to glower at him, he pinched her cheek, saying, "You're so cute when you're angry!"  
  
Snarling, she instinctively kicked out and booted him in the nose. Angel cried out and stumbled back a pace, his hands flying to his face. Sephira laughed bitterly. "Do not touch me when I do not ask it."  
  
"You did not have to kick me," Angel mumbled, his voice muffled by his hands. Checking his nose to confirm it wasn't broken, he sniffled a little, muttering a quiet little noise of pain. Sephira laughed again.  
  
"What a child."  
  
Angel, an innocent, reproachful expression on his face, mumbled something incoherant. Looking up at her, sighed a little. "You are so cruel..."  
  
Sephira arched an eyebrow. "Oh... I am cruel? What about you? You hurt my friends!" Glaring once again, she tried to kick out at him again, but he kept his distance. "You hurt Kuja! You hurt Viteros! How could you do something like that?!"  
  
He was silent for a moment, as though he were thinking of what to say, and how to say it. Glancing up at her, he said, "Well...I had to..."  
  
"No you did not!" Sephira protested, kicking out again, even though Angel was just out of her range. "Come closer so I can kick you again!" she shouted angrily.  
  
"Hn... No thank you..." Angel muttered, touching his nose with his hand again, and sniffling. Looking around the room, he brushed some hair from his eyes, striding over to a table and picking up a phial, turning it over in his palms. "Do you know what this is?" he asked.  
  
"How should I know?" Sephira snapped, glaring at him.  
  
He turned to face her, his face unreadable. "It is called Mako. It was used, many years ago, to create beings of higher intelligence, higher strength, speed, mobility. It made better soldiers. One of them... he lost his mind, killed so many, almost destroyed the Planet. Maybe you knew him?" He studied her for a moment. When she didn't answer, her only expression confusion, he shook his head. "Maybe not. This man though, he was pushed over the brink of sanity by some kind of discovery. So, he turned on the Planet. He was eventually stopped. Killed."  
  
"Why do I care about this?" Sephira asked, glowering at him.  
  
Angel placed the phial back on the table and came closer to her again. "I do not know why. Maybe...maybe it has something to do with the Angel Project?" Angel arched an eyebrow, as though expecting her to continue.  
  
"What are you talking about?! I have absolutely no idea of what you are speaking!" Sephira shook her head at him. "You are so confused. Why have you brought me here?"  
  
"For the Angel Project. My Master needs you. He needs you for some reason. You are an Angel, correct?" Angel moved a little closer, reaching out his hands and placing them on her ankles, so that she couldn't kick him again.  
  
She struggled, muttering, "Let me go... I do not know what you are talking about..." Pulling a foot away from him, she kicked out at his face, but he blocked her with his free hand.  
  
"Please...don't kick me again..." he asked kindly. "I do not really want a broken nose..."  
  
"Let me go! You have no right to keep me here! Release me at once!" she shouted, trying to get free. Angel shook his head, pursing his lips, remaining silent.  
  
"I'm sorry, but, I really cannot. My Master wishes to talk to you, angel." Angel smiled. "Don't worry. He is not cruel."  
  
"I do not wish to speak with him!" Sephira cried angrily. "Release me and return me to my companions!"  
  
Angel sighed, release her and stepped back, holding up his hands. "Okay. I know you do not wish to be here; I can understand." Looking around him, he sighed. "It is drab, dull, and you did not want to be snatched from your friends. But, my Master seemed very insistant on bringing you here." Arching an eyebrow, Angel smiled. "I can let you down if you *promise* not to run. Stay with me?"  
  
Sephira shook her head, glaring at him. "Of course not! I am leaving! Let me down!"  
  
Angel sighed and shook his head. "I guess I shall have to leave you up there for now, unfortunately. You really should agree with me. Then, maybe you wouldn't be so unhappy."  
  
Sephira muttered incoherantly for a moment, then looked back at Angel, who was watching her. "...I guess I could stay here. Maybe... Let me down."  
  
Angel smiled and walked forward. "Hnn... I'm sure your simply lying, but, I shall let you down anyway. Please, don't bolt for the door the moment I let you down."  
  
Sephira smirked and lept to the ground as Angel released her wrists, she glanced around her, then began to dash for the door. Angel held out a hand and placed it on her foreheard, keeping her there lightly. Pushing her back a little, she unbalanced and fell down. "Damn you!" she cried, sitting slumped on the ground, fuming.  
  
Angel crouched beside her, smiling. "I told you not to bolt the second I let you go. Let's talk first. I want to talk with you, get to know you. I find you quite interesting."  
  
"I do not particularly care whether you find me 'interesting' or not. I want to leave."  
  
"And I don't; not yet. Stay here? Please?" A hopefully innocent expression arose on his face. Sephira shook her head, sighing.  
  
"I cannot believe that I am going to agree and stay with you. You are too pathetic." Looking around, she pursed her lips. "Talk already, then."  
  
Angel collapsed to his knees beside her, smiling. "Okay. Talk...hmm... Well... Tell me about yourself."  
  
"You tell me about YOURself. I do not want to talk," Sephira muttered, crossing her arms. Staring balefully at him for a a moment, she sighed in anger. "Speak!"  
  
Angel laughed a little and shook his head. "Fine, you are a difficult girl. I shall speak then. What about though?" He raised his eyebrows, as if asking her to give him suggestions. She scoffed, so he continued. "Well, then... I shall tell you about myself. My past, maybe?"  
  
"It sounds interesting. Continue." Sephira sat back, leaning against the wall, pulling her legs to her, wrapping her arms around them.  
  
Angel sighed. "My past..yes... Well, I am not quite sure where I came from; the furthest back that I can remember is when I was maybe...seven? Yeah, I'm sure that's about right." He blinked, his eyes distant. "I do not know what my life was before then. Terisas has been my 'father' ever since I remember. He taught me many things: the use of the sword, reading, writing, everything I know. He's an absolutely brilliant man. I won't say he is a most wonderful 'father', though. He used me for...many experiments of his..."  
  
"Disgusting."  
  
"Maybe. But, it did further his work, helped him through, so I do not really mind."  
  
"What did he do to you?" Sephira asked, intrigued, leaning forward a little. Watching his carefully, she arched an eyebrow when he turned his head to the side, looking away, his eyes narrowing.  
  
"I do not really wish to say..." he said quietly, his eyes flicking around, almost nervously.  
  
Knowing that she had touched on a mental wound, she stopped, moving back again. "Very well. Continue. What else? I want to know about the wings."  
  
"The wings... My wings... I am part of a project, created by Master Terisas, and Lord Garland. The played with cells, genetics, and came up with something called Angel genes, and Devil genes. Using Garland's Genomes, they experimented, injecting the genes into the souless creatures. Most of them...no...all of them, died. They would bleed to death, mutate, some would simply stop functioning, others would go mad and commit suicide. Some were never affected, though only a couple. I never witnessed this; it was before my time. I read it all in Terisas' scientific journals."  
  
"Fascinating."  
  
"Yes... I also read of a female Genome, one with a soul, that was injected with the Angel gene. Was...is that you?" Angel turned his face back to her, staring into her eyes. "Do you know?"  
  
Sephira arched an eyebrow. "Not me! I am a completely normal Genome."  
  
"Are you?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The flight was going smoothly. According to the computer logs, the most likely place Angel-Black would take Sephira was directly back to his base of operations, Outer Heaven SKY, a floating fortress high up in the atmosphere.  
  
Viteros was gone from the bridge after setting in the course and activating autopilot. Kuja dozed, sprawled out in a chair. Zidane went back into the cargo hold.  
  
He found Viteros back there, staring at a screen where a person danced, and arrows flew across the screen. Viteros was standing on a pad with arrows on it and jumping all over it. Zidane had to shout over the sound of music, "What's that noise!"  
  
"It's called music, Zidane! Ever hear it!"  
  
"I've heard music! This stuff is crazy!"  
  
"Yeah! Gotta love it!"  
  
The 'music' pulsed, "Hey, Mr. Wonderful, hey, you're so incredible, hey, Mr. Wonderful, wonderful to me, hey, Mr. Wonderful, oh, you're irresistible."  
  
While Viteros 'danced', Zidane swore he could have heard him reply to the music, "Yeah, I know."  
  
Zidane watched him for a few minutes. Then he said the only words that came to his mind. "You know, Vit?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Zidane grinned. "You're one crazy guy."  
  
-----------------------  
  
A few hours later, they were still in the cargo hold, arguing about who had made them lose in the two-player mode.  
  
"You're just too slow! You're reflexes are nothing!"  
  
"Me? You're the one who was like 'Huh? We had two arrows this time? Aw, dang!'"  
  
"Grr.I think that was you."  
  
"You."  
  
"You!"  
  
"You infinity."  
  
"Dang.uh.that doesn't count!"  
  
"Yes it does!"  
  
"Does not!"  
  
"Does too!"  
  
"Nuh uh!"  
  
"Yeah huh!"  
  
"As.ah.'interesting' as this is," said Kuja, as he walked in, "we really need to get a move on. We have arrived at our destination, the airship Destiny."  
  
Viteros looked confused. "Destiny? I thought we were headed for OH-SKY. Strange. I didn't know there was an airship near here.whose ship is it?"  
  
"Take a wild, wild guess. The owner's name starts with a T."  
  
Devil Nine snapped his fingers. "Terry!"  
  
"No," groaned Kuja, "you know, it is really hard to believe you possess advanced intellect.its Terisas. His airship was waiting for us, and it's going to be a few seconds before he notices our presence. And by the way, that wasn't funny at all."  
  
"But-"  
  
"No."  
  
"I-"  
  
"No!"  
  
"But-"  
  
"Shut UP! *hiss*."  
  
"Oh, crap, he's hissing," said Viteros. "Zidane, its time to move."  
  
"Then, we hurry to the bridge!" put in Zidane. "Let's go!"  
  
------------------------  
  
At the bridge, they could see clearly in the distance, partially masked by clouds, the massive, metal-plated airship Destiny. Viteros cursed. "A little ways past where that ship is is where we can find Outer Heaven SKY. There's no way past. If we try to go around, he'll see us; the clouds further away would obscure our view so bad we wouldn't be able to navigate. If we duck below then we'll have to go way way way down to dodge all the cloud cover and come up near SKY.and we can't go any higher or the air pressure won't hold us up anymore. He's got us in check."  
  
"As bad as check is, it is a long way from checkmate," said Kuja, scanning their view.  
  
"Uh...actually, its pretty close..." put in Zidane.  
  
There was a pause and the other two looked at him for a while. Then: "Huh?"  
  
"Since when are we talking about chess, dummkopf?" laughed Viteros.  
  
"Wait, but you just said-"  
  
"Whatever," said Viteros, still laughing. "But you've got a point right there. When you play chess, you gotta take some risks, and make some sacrifices...suicide...and I've got your suicide, right here! Let's rock, baby!"  
  
Kuja put his head in his hands. "You had my interest...and respect...until that last sentence. And also, that last little bit of dialogue really made no sense at all."  
  
Taking no notice, Viteros gripped the controls tightly and took a quick look at Zidane. "Flip that big fat red switch with the sign next to it that says THE RED SWITCH, will ya?"  
  
"Right."  
  
Music turned on, (the reader will hafta think this up...think of your own dramatic suicidal determined musiken, you guys) and Viteros grinned. "Let's go!"  
  
The airship lunged forward, flying straight at the Destiny.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Sir, there appears to be a small airship flying toward us with a maniac at the controls."  
  
"Dammit. Not again!"  
  
"I'm afraid so, sir."  
  
"Activate the tracking guns!"  
  
-------------------  
  
Luckily for the two idiots and Kuja, Viteros was an expert pilot, easily weaving in and out between the flying bullets and missiles. Then he spun the ship and flew straight down at the enemy airship.  
  
"What are you doing!?" shouted Kuja, desperately hanging onto the walls of the rocking airship, "Do you seriously believe you can destroy that thing!?"  
  
"Not a chance!" Viteros yelled back, "No, if we try, we die! Hey, that rhymed.but besides that, you know we can't avoid this thing! So we distract it and then we escape! Don't worry; I've got a plan!"  
  
Zidane groaned. "You've always got a plan."  
  
"Whatever!"  
  
Viteros' small aircraft once again flew in dangerously close to the Destiny, nearly being torn apart by the hail of ammunition. Viteros grinned and reached up above, pulling a small lever labeled "R".  
  
The two Genomes could feel the floor shifting under them, but had they been outside, they would have seen the dramatic changes taking place. Where they were, they knew little of what was truly happening.  
  
The normally aerodynamic airship's front split in two, opening up as a long, pyramidical metal pole extended, tapering to a sharp point. Two slots opened underneath, and revolving gatling guns dropped out. Openings appeared on the sides, and armored plating slowly slid out of them and covered the sides, turning the once speedy airship now into a powerful, well-defended, lumbering behemoth.  
  
Relatively.  
  
However, compared to the Destiny, the small airship was not much more dangerous than before.  
  
On the inside, the screen Viteros looked out of suddenly filled with bright digital data, showing on the sides their altitude, ammunition levels, proximity of projectiles, proximity to target.  
  
"Now this is when we fight," he said. "We're gonna knock them back down to earth!"  
  
"Earth?" asked Kuja and Zidane simultaneously.  
  
"Uh.never mind. Viteros grabbed a joystick that stuck out of the wall parallel to the ground. Squeezing the stick's trigger, he fired the right gatling gun, somehow aiming and flying at the same time. Shouting over the increased din, he said, "Zidane! You and Kuja get back to the cargo hold! I'm gonna open the door!"  
  
"What are you doing!? Do you want us falling out!?"  
  
"No! When you're back there look for a crate labeled "B HH17! Go, hurry!"  
  
Stumbling and hitting the walls as the wildly flying airship cruised through the air, Zidane and Kuja hurried back to the crates. They hunted rapidly through them until Kuja shouted, "Here! Help me pull it out!"  
  
It was behind a group of other ones, and while they tightly gripped its sides and began to drag, the cargo doors opened, letting in a whipping, cold wind. Squinting, with their tears streaming into the air, the two pulled it near the opening.  
  
Viteros' voice suddenly blared from a speaker, "You guys, you got the crate!? Open it up!"  
  
After a few frenzied seconds of straining, Kuja burned the edges and Zidane snapped off the top with his knife. "Okay! We've done it!" declared Zidane.  
  
"You see the little balls inside? DO NOT TOUCH THEM! I'm gonna fly over the ship, and you just hurl 'em over onto the enemy! You got it right!?"  
  
"Easy," said Zidane. "Let's do it!"  
  
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Thanks for putting up with us and reviewing us. We love you all. ^^ 


	11. Chapter Eleven

Bwee. Fixed Chapter 11! Yay! *really pleased with her fluffy sap* Yay! ^________^  
  
Viteros: ..... *rolls eyes*  
  
Disclaimer: Nope, I'm afraid we still don't own FF9. Too bad, huh? But, wonderous Square still owns it. ^^ Our characters are our own creation, though, and may not be used.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- ~Chapter Eleven~  
  
He raised his delicate eyebrows, shuffling closer to her, sitting cross- legged in front of her. Placing his palms on her knees, he rested his chin on top of his hands.  
  
Making no move to shake him off, she frowned. "Of course I am."  
  
"Tell me of your past. Please?" he begged, his eyes pleading.  
  
She couldn't refuse. "...I guess I could..." she said quietly, averting her eyes from his. "Well, I am one of Garland's...creations. Yes, one of his Genomes with a soul. He created me as an infant, I had a life like any 'normal' child. Kuja, he is maybe seven years older than me. He was like my older brother; we are inseparable. He became much more to me, though.  
  
"Garland...it is like he loathes us, though. He does not hesitate to harm us. He has broken bones, bruised, scarred.  
  
"My life...is it filled with feelings of uselessness, worthlessness... That evil man, I hate him with every fibre of my being and--" She turned her face back to him, noticed that he was staring at her with rapt attention. She slowly turned slightly red. "Forgive me; I got a little carried away..."  
  
"No, don't worry." He smiled. "Passion is a good thing."  
  
She smiled a little, she couldn't help it. "I am glad for that."  
  
They sat there in silence for a long time, both lost in thought, Angel still resting his chin on Sephira's knees. As she shifted a little, he blinked, pulling his head up. "My goodness, how long have we been sitting here?" he asked, grinning slightly.  
  
"I can assure you, I do not know," she said wryly.  
  
Angel removed his hands from her knees, tilting his head to one side. "I cannot believe this. You still do not trust me, you do not even like me, not at all."  
  
"I--"  
  
"Are you afraid of me?"  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
He leaned closer once more, taking her shoulders. "Are you afraid of me?" he repeated, a little quieter. When she didn't answer, averting her gaze, he took a hand from her shoulder, placing it under her chin and tilting her head upwards, to look at him. "You have nothing to fear from me. I will *never* harm you. Do you understand? Ever. I promise you that."  
  
Staring at him, she was shocked to find that she believed him. She was even more surprised to find herself coming to like him. If he was no true sorcerer, what was this spell he was weaving around her?  
  
"Why promise something to me? You barely even know me, and--" She halted as he placed a finger to her lips. "..Wha?"  
  
"Shh..." Leaning forward slowly, he kissed her gently, as though he thought she would fear him more, if he had been more forceful. Brushing some hair from her partially shut eyes, he ran his fingers lightly down the side of her face.  
  
"How adorable. Pet, you are quite the charmer."  
  
Quickly pulling away, Angel swung around a little, blinking in surprise. Sephira, blushing, glanced around the black-haired seraph.  
  
"Master Terisas," Angel breathed, quietly. "W-what brings you here?"  
  
"I am here to carry out a couple of experiments, child. Get out." Terisas jerked a thumb behind him, to the door.  
  
She instantly disliked him. He looked cruel, wicked. His eyes were cold, dark. His hair, shoulder-length, grey with age, framed his face. He smiled, a frightening expression from him. Taking steps forward, towards them, he reached out a hand, which was covered by a leather glove. His other hand was left bare, though.  
  
"Come, boy, get up. Leave us." When Angel made no move to get up, Terisas gathered Angel's hair in his hand and forcefully yanked him to his feet. Angel cried out, his hands flying to try to free himself.  
  
"Please, let me go, Master!" he cried. Terisas threw him to the side, Angel stumbling, collapsing to his knees again. He leapt to his feet as Terisas kicked him.  
  
"Get out! Don't disobey me!" Terisas shouted, glaring at Angel as the youth made a hasty retreat, stumbling out of the room, shutting the door behind him.  
  
Sephira, staring wide-eyed at Terisas, shrunk back when he turned to her. He reminded her so much of Garland.  
  
"Now, my dear, we need to run a couple of experiments on you. I need to see something. It's quite important, so don't struggle, don't disobey me."  
  
"I...I--" she stammered, swallowing.  
  
"Are you going to tell me that you don't want to obey? Very well." Ducking down and wrapping a hand in her hair, he dragged her to her feet, throwing her against the wall. Grabbing both of her wrists, he held her off of the ground, slamming her back once more into the wall. Yanking out a knife, he thrust it through her hands, straight through, into the metal behind her. She screamed, until her breath ran out, then she panted, struggling, blood running down her arms. Terisas laughed.  
  
"How you cry...humorous..." Walking slowly towards a table in the center of the room, he picked up a book, flipping through it. "This is one of dear Garland's journals. He wrote of one of his most admirable experiments, wrote of it a great deal. Do you know of the Crystal of Life?"  
  
"Of...of course I do..." Sephira hissed through gritted teeth, pain causing her to whimper unwantedly.  
  
"Excellent. Well, you see, Garland wrote of something he did with that Crystal. The Crystal has a kind of life force in it, something almost like a soul. So, do you know what he did? He compressed and changed it, to fit a Genome, and placed it into one of his creations. The Crystal was, unfortunately, destroyed in the process. But, the world did not return to Zero, no, it continued, because of the compressed soul in one of the Genomes.  
  
"He also noted that he placed some kind of protection spell on the soul, so that it would be more difficult to destroy. I do not know how to break the spell..."  
  
"Why... why would you want to destroy the Crystal....?" Sephira gasped.  
  
"Why? Power. Absolute power..."  
  
"You would destroy the planet, as well as yourself!"  
  
Terisas smiled, shaking his index finger. "Tsk, tsk. It will not destroy me. I am eternal and--"  
  
"You are a fool!"  
  
"Am I? All I need to do, to live just a little longer, is to take a little bit of life from you. It's so simple. I have lived for so very long, and it is not at all difficult." Laughing, Terisas, book in one hand, moved back towards Sephira. Standing beside her, he flipped through the book again. "Ah... I've read this so many times... I know his stories, I know all of his rhymes. And yet, I am not even a step closer. It tears me apart! I need the book with the spell, and how to reverse it! I know he has it; he doesn't do anything scientific without writing it down! I don't know where it lies, though!" Resting his head on her shoulder, he reached his free hand up and touched it to her face. "I am certain you have the Crystal's spirit within you, but I cannot harm it!"  
  
"No... I am an ordinary Genome..." Sephira protested, shaking her head to remove his hand.  
  
"Of course you are, my dear," Terisas said with a hint of sarcasm. Leaning against the all, he flipped through the pages of the book again, skimming through the words. "This kills me! I cannot use you in anyway, until I know how!" Swinging around to look at her, he asked, "Do you feel pain?"  
  
"Goddamn right I do!" she cried, gasping in agony.  
  
"I wouldn't think so. You are a doll, a puppet. They don't feel any type of emotion..."  
  
"Let me down! Please!" she begged, tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. He was hitting on the exact part of her life she didn't want to delve in. She didn't want to question her existence; it only left her feeling alone, depressed, worthless, and devoid of life.  
  
Terisas laughed, reaching up and pulling the blade from the wall, out of her hands. She tumbled to the ground, curling up in a huddled heap, holding her hands close to her. Blood dripped onto the floor, pooling a little.  
  
She looked up as he took one of her hands, examining it. "You do bleed, though. Is it real blood?" Running his fingers over her palm, he licked the blood from the tips, smiling. "It is. Garland really outdid himself."  
  
"Leave me be," she wailed, tearing her hand from him and cradling it with her other hand, close to her chest.  
  
"I suppose you do know it is real blood, do you not?" Grabbing her hand again, he turned it over, wiping some of the blood from her wrist, tracing a couple thin scars that were marked in her skin. "Hm.. I would think you do... Why would you try to commit suici--"  
  
Wrenching her hand from his once more, she shrieked, "Leave me alone!"  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Viteros expertly piloted the ship over the Destiny, and the two Genomes in the cargo hold hurriedly dropped their first volleys. Kuja looked as the small, nondescript balls fell down towards Terisas' airship and he said curiously, "What exactly are these small things supposed to-"  
  
POW!  
  
The first one hit, and it exploded into a huge, blossoming flower of flame. As more hit, the airships rocked, slammed hard by the sheer power of the very air being hurled across the sky.  
  
"We're out!" yelled Zidane, "What do we do now!?"  
  
"We move in!"  
  
"What!?" near-screamed Kuja, "What are you planning!?"  
  
Viteros laughed. "Suicidal is the way to go now! Let's go!" The airship went into a sharp dive, throwing everyone back.  
  
--------------  
  
"Sir, the ship has disappeared from our scopes!"  
  
"What? No ship that small has a cloaking device!"  
  
"We can't see it anymore sir."  
  
"Continue the search. I will go and personally apologize to Lord Terisas."  
  
--------------  
  
Meanwhile, having landed directly on top of the control bridge just behind the scanning satellite dish array, Viteros relaxed and stretched out. "I told you I was the best!"  
  
There was a silence. "Actually...you did not," said Kuja.  
  
"No?"  
  
"Never once," said Zidane.  
  
"Oh...dang."  
  
"Anyhow, we must think of how to get out of this happy little situation," said Kuja, looking out the window. "We are safe for the moment, but as soon as we launch, or if this ship ever docks, and I am sure it has to sometime, we shall have soldiers all over us."  
  
"This is true," said Viteros thoughtfully. "Maybe if we...dunno if this'll work..."  
  
"First, never say 'dunno' again, and what are you thinking?" asked Kuja impatiently. "She is going to die in there, you know!"  
  
"I'm worried too, but lets not rush happily along to our doom," replied Viteros, eyes closing. "I'm thinking, so don't hurt me if I stop moving."  
  
After a while, Viteros started snoring softly. Kuja slapped his own forehead, and Zidane said, "Know how to play poker?"  
  
Kuja looked over angrily. "What the hell is that!?"  
  
"I'm not sure..."  
  
After a while, Viteros got up. "Yeah, I think we can do it, but I'll need your help for this." He started rummaging in a few boxes, and he said, "Kuja, Zidane, could you go back and get a couple of boxes...one that says 'my big box of extra leathery things' and another that says 'obscenely powerful but thin steel poles that interconnect'. I'll be waiting up here; I've got to get something that's around me somewhere..."  
  
Wasting no time, the two Genomes hurried back with the boxes, and Viteros took them and grinned. "This is called insanely strong tape, and it'll hold basically anything together. We'll arrange the poles into this delta type of shape and then tape the leather on top, and then make handholds underneath out of more pole, and more leather."  
  
"Why more leather at the bottom grip?"  
  
"Makes it much more comfy," said Viteros. "Let's get to work."  
  
------------------  
  
After a while their hanggliders were finished, and the three were just about ready to go. Suddenly, Viteros grinned. "I've just gotten a thought."  
  
"Good job," said Kuja sourly. "What is it?"  
  
"This airship of mine has a special sequence built into its programming, just in case a situation like this comes up. Not exactly, of course, but you know, just kinda, and-"  
  
"Get to the point!"  
  
"OK, calm down, you guys. This airship was designed specifically to do damage with the philosophy "I'll die and take you with me", and as such, it is built with a network of explosives all along its frame, key points, and engines. If you would trigger a few of those bombs, then this thing goes bang in a really really big way."  
  
Zidane was confused. "But if we blow this up, we'll be stranded!"  
  
"No, I see what you mean.take out Destiny, right?" asked Kuja.  
  
"Exactly. Destiny blows, and that really cripples Terisas, at least temporarily. And trust me, I've got this under control. Wait a second."  
  
He whipped out a small rectangular device from his cloak. He opened it, and the two could see it was covered in small buttons.  
  
"What is that?" asked Zidane.  
  
"Cell phone," said Viteros. "You would not believe how much these guys make me pay to talk to people.oh, hey, Cid! How are you! And Shera? Yeah.yeah.uh huh.no, remember me? No? Oh, c'mon, remember me, Viteros Ojikage?...me, you don't remember me? Don't you remember, you were with me at the Arten Race back at Midgar? I."  
  
Suddenly, Viteros pulled the phone away from his ear, grimacing at the long, long stream of curses that flowed from the phone.  
  
After a minute or two, Viteros put it back on his ear. "Wait, calm down! Remember, I paid you back! Yes I did, full! But anyhow, Cid.I need your help. I need you to fly the Highwind to coordinate SKY. Can you do that? Yes? Okay, then.see you later.thanks a lot!"  
  
Viteros shut off the phone and grinned. "You can always trust my main man Cid Highwind. Like me, he's been in too many Final Fantasy."  
  
"Pardon me?" asked Kuja.  
  
"Ignore it.he's kinda weird," said Zidane.  
  
Viteros walked over to the control panel. "Sionara, you bloody pile of junk," he said, pushing a big red button that said, "DON'T PUSH THIS!". Suddenly, the entire screen went black and had a big red number 5:00 on it.  
  
"When that runs out, we die!" yelled Viteros, "So we hurry! To the roof!"  
  
-----------------  
  
A few seconds later they ran out of the airship holding their makeshift hangliders. Grabbing hold and running, they jumped off the side of the ship, flying quickly to the objective, Outer Heaven SKY.  
  
Despite the terrible threat hanging above their heads, and the fear sitting like a massive stone in his stomach, Zidane couldn't help being carried away by the exhilaration of flight. He smiled, he laughed, his hair rippled in the breeze and he closed his eyes in euphoria. Nothing like flying inside of a metal shell, this was being in the sky, being one with the sky, feeling the wind in your face and the freedom of flying through the clouds, through the endless blue.  
  
Finally they landed on the outside of Outer Heaven SKY. They put their gliders in a pile and cautiously approached the roof door. Viteros pulled out a small metal box covered in wires. He set it near the door and then scurried.  
  
Boom. (understatement)  
  
The door blew open, and they rushed in, knowing full well what an idiot Viteros was for exploding the door with a bomb.  
  
Viteros' thoughts: I am so awesome. Fire. Explosions. Oh yeah.  
  
Kuja's thoughts: What a nimrod. Let us hurry and save Sephira.  
  
Zidane's thoughts: Dagger...lets get disguises...Dagger...  
  
"We should grab a few straggler soldiers and masquerade as them," said Zidane, as they neared the bottom of the stairs and saw the lines of marching, armored soldiers. Tersias' warriors were dressed in thick body armor, with masks that concealed identity and destroyed individuality, turning them all into a faceless, determined, deadly horde.  
  
"How wonderfully convenient that the bad guys all wear masks. This'll be easier than I thought." Viteros grinned. Then he looked downcast. "But they're all in neat little rows. How will we get costumes?"  
  
"We could go to an armory or something. They have got to have extra uniforms," said Kuja. "And whatever those things that they are holding are."  
  
"They're called guns," said Zidane. "Vit's got one."  
  
"Oh yes. I saw it before at Ipsen."  
  
"But back to our problem," said Viteros, a little annoyed, "How do we get to wherever they store the extra suits?"  
  
"We hurry," said Kuja simply, getting up. Crouched down, he hurried down the hallway.  
  
"If there's one thing I've learned from playing Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, it is shoot the security cameras, move out of their range, or use a chaff grenade."  
  
Zidane turned to Viteros and said three words. Two were "What the" and the last is not appropriate to write down, sorry.  
  
Viteros and Zidane followed behind Kuja, watching out for the cameras.  
  
"By video game law," said Viteros, "we shouldn't be forced to creep along like this for too long, or else the player will lose interest and quit. So I think we'll soon find the armory...right here, what did I tell you guys? And look, inside, there's our save moogle."  
  
The three went inside, Kuja and Zidane careful not to get too close to Viteros, or talk to him, or glance at him.  
  
They hurriedly rummaged through the drawers and shelves, and Zidane opened a standing drawer that revealed bunches of uniforms folded and put onto shelves with helmets on top, and Kuja found the gun rack. Viteros was too busy rambling on about how "And the main villain always knows more than the good guys! What's up with that? I mean seriously, it's like Cloud Strife, Solid Snake, and Fei Fong Wong among others were ALL idiots, and while I'm talking about bad guys..."  
  
Throwing a helmet at Viteros' head, Zidane hissed, "Get away from the door, and put this on."  
  
Viteros grabbed the helmet and stuck it on. "I always hated these.they're so.so."  
  
"Annoying?"  
  
"Confining?"  
  
"No.ugly."  
  
Kuja smacked his head. "Just put it on, idiot boy."  
  
----------------  
  
A few minutes later three soldiers stumbled out the doors and walked down the hall, watching other soldiers and trying to emulate them.  
  
The airship Destiny did not have lights, and was instead a pure black emptiness. The helmets had a way to show, however, all of the surroundings illuminated and as bright as day. They walked down the halls quietly, after seeing the soldiers they quickly ducked into shadow, avoiding all others now that they knew how to act.  
  
"We need to get to Sephira," said Kuja quietly.  
  
"I agree," put in Zidane, "We need to get to her quick. Who knows what they've done to her?"  
  
Viteros looked around and breathed deeply. "Knowing Terisas, something very very bad. We need to hurry, yes, and-"  
  
"Get here, so hurry to leaving be?"  
  
Viteros spun, gun hand up. "Who's there!"  
  
"Best thing dark.easy hide. So easy."  
  
Viteros saw the blade flash suddenly, whirling through the air, flying at them. It took a split second for him to aim and fire, knocking the thrown sword to the ground. He scanned the area, and shouted, "Akumu! Where are you!"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------- Please read and review! We will draw you pictures! ^o^  
  
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Sephira's Gallery: http://sephira.deviantart.com/  
  
Viteros' Gallery: Don't have one yet. XD 


	12. Chapter Twelve

Hey all, again. I see no one has reviewed.... *sigh* No one likes us anymore.... ;_;  
  
Vit: Yes they do! ^____^  
  
Sephira: ..... You're too cheerful.... -_-  
  
Vit: ^_____^  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own FF9 or anything to do with it. Lovely, lovely Squaresoft does, bless them. ^^ But, we have rights to our own creations. ^^  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- ~Chapter 12~  
  
Silent for a moment, Terisas then bowed. "As you wish, child. Shall I send for my pet to comfort you?" When she didn't answer, he shrugged and left the room, shutting her in.  
  
As he emerged into the hallway, he saw that Angel was leaning on the opposite wall, arms crossed. "You hurt her, didn't you?" he asked, moving forward and looking up at Terisas, his eyes angry.  
  
"You need not concern yourself with her, child." Pushing past Angel, Terisas walked away, down the hallway, disappearing into the darkness of the shadows.  
  
Staring as he left, Angel glared, his fists clenched. When he could no longer hear Terisas' footsteps, he whirled around and barged into the room, slamming the door behind him. Rushing to the back of the chamber, he collapsed to his knees beside the huddled girl and gathered her into his arms, holding her protectively.  
  
"Are you okay? Please, I'm so sorry," Angel whispered, trying to comfort Sephira as she sobbed. Finding her hands, he tried to hold them comfortingly, only to release them as quick as he could when she cried out in pain. "What did he do to you?!" he asked in alarm, staring at the blood on his palms, and all over Sephira. Examining her, he winced, seeing the two knife wounds. "I'm so sorry," Angel said again, holding her close once more.  
  
Lost for words, she jerked away from him and curled up, pulling her knees close to herself, shaking. Angel took her wrists, wiping as much blood as he could from her hands. Lookng around for something he could use to bind them to stop the blood flow, he found a length of surgical wrap, which Terisas used in his experiments. Unravelling it, he began to wrap up her hands, carefully and gently. She looked up, her eyes red.  
  
"Please...Leave me..." she said quietly, pulling a bound hand from him and wiping her eyes with the back of her arm. "I want to be left alone..."  
  
"No, I won't leave you alone right now. No, I won't," he murmured, placing his hands on either side of her face, pressing his lips slightly to her forehead.  
  
"Leave me be!" she sobbed, pulling away from him. "Leave me!" Crawling away from him, she turned and rested her face on the cool wall. Looking up, she took her hands off of the cold metal, blood on her palms and the bandages. Her blood dripped down the wall, from where her hands had been stabbed.  
  
Swinging around to look at Angel, who watched her, his eyes sad, she sobbed again, burying her face in her bandaged hands. Angel moved forward and wrapped his arms around her, twining his hands in her hair.  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered over and over, trying to stop her from crying. "Please, love, stop your tears." Kissing her forehead, he smoothed her hair with a hand. "It hurts me to see you in pain..."  
  
"Do not call me that..." she muttered, hanging her head.  
  
"Call you what?" he asked, lifting her face with his hand, so he could look her in the eyes. She didn't reply.  
  
Angel blinked, moving away from her and looking like he was thinking. Placing his chin in his hand and shutting his eyes, he bit his lip. Glancing up at her, he narrowed his eyes a little. "You should leave here," he said abruptly.  
  
"Excuse me?" she murmured, cradling her hands.  
  
Gazing at her, he placed a palm on the side of her face. "You need to leave. Terisas will do more than this before he is done...."  
  
"..." She stared at him, swallowing. "How can I trust you?"  
  
He frowned, looking a little hurt. "How can you..." he repeated, "how can you trust me? ...How can you not? I have tried to care for you..."  
  
"You brought me into this predicament..." she reminded him dryly. He smiled a little and shook his head.  
  
"I cannot defy him..." He looked away from her, his eyes a little distant.  
  
"Then why do you now? I know that I am not meant to leave...." She frowned at t him, reaching out and gripping his wrist with a bruising grip. "Why did you even bring me here?!" she cried, wincing at the pain in her hand from clutching him. "Why?!"  
  
"Please... do not ask...." he murmured, trying to shake her off. She only gripped tighter, though it caused her great pain.  
  
"Tell me!" she demanded angrily. He glared at her and forcefully shook her off. Taking her wrists, he held them to stop her from punching him in the face.  
  
"I can't! Can't you just accept that someone wants to help you?" he cried, upset. "I just want to help you! Don't you know that?!"  
  
She remained silent, then looked up. "If you rely on others, you will never make it through this world. If you place everything on someone else, you will end up dead, or worse."  
  
Angel watched her. "I pity you if you think you can get through life that way... I have to make it through that way, but, if I had the choice, I wouldn't..."  
  
She remained silent, moving away from him and huddling up again. He grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. "We are going to get you out of here!"  
  
"Leave me alone!" she cried, trying to pull herself free. "Leave me alone!"  
  
He whirled around and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her. "Come on!" When she refused to move, he picked her up, much to her protests, and carried her, as she kicked and screamed in anger.  
  
"Just leave me alone!"  
  
"Be quiet! Quiet!" he cried, getting to the door and trying to open it. When he couldn't, he sighed in exasperation and placed Sephira on the ground, opened the door, picked her up and slung her over his shoulder and set off, her screaming every step of the way.  
  
"Let me down! Leave me alone!"  
  
Throwing her on the ground and pinning her to a wall, he hissed, "Do you want to leave? Get back to your friends?"  
  
She considered this for a couple of moments, then muttered, "Yes..."  
  
"Then let me help you!" he cried. Leaning forward, he placed his forhead on the wall beside her and murmured, "Let me help you out of here... I don't want you hurt anymore than you are..."  
  
Remaining silent, he took it as her unsaid agreement and took her by the wrist and led her off down the hallways of the airship they were on. The torches, set every few feet apart on the walls, gave off an orange glow, throwing everything into an odd illumination. Turning a couple of times, they suddenly heard gun shot and screaming.  
  
"What is happening?" Sephira asked, instinctively grabbing his arm with her hand, though it hurt.  
  
Angel glanced around, his magenta eyes peering through the semi-darkness, trying to see anything suspicious. "I don't really know..." He blinked. "Maybe...maybe it's your friends... We should go towards the fighting. I bet it's them."  
  
"But..." she protested. She didn't want to go towards the fighting...she wanted to get away from it.  
  
"Don't worry. I'll keep you safe."  
  
"...Promise?" she asked quietly. She felt a slight blush rising on her face, and looked away.  
  
"I promise."  
  
She blinked, then followed after him as he followed the sounds of battle. As they neared, the screams became louder, the gun shots and firing rang in their ears. Sephira recognized their voices; it was them.  
  
"Kuja!" she cried, starting forward. Angel held her back.  
  
"Don't!" he warned, his voice a hiss.  
  
"I want to see Kuja!" she yelled, glaring at him. "Let me see Kuja!"  
  
Wrapping a hand around her mouth, Angel muttered incoherantly, taking a step back. "Be quiet. They'll hear us..."  
  
It appeared some of them had. A group of soldiers ran towards them, guns aimed straight at them. Angel threw Sephira behind him, shouting out, "Stop! It is only I! Don't shoot!"  
  
The men halted, one still aiming his weapon at Angel. "Where are you taking her, Angel-Black?"  
  
Angel stared glared defiantly at the man. "I am taking her to Master Terisas..." he hissed, taking Sephira's wrist and taking a step forward. The soldiers parted to let them past. As they did, Sephira saw Kuja, along with Zidane, and Akumu beside them, collapsed on the ground.  
  
"Kuja!" she screamed, breaking free of Angel and running forward.  
  
"Halt!" Without even considering, a soldier fired his gun, shooting her in the back. She cried out and collapsed. Angel turned, furious, and kicked a man as he ran forward to collect the girl. The other soldiers jumped him, and he fought them, kicking and lashing out; he hadn't brought his katanas.  
  
Defeating the men, he turned and stared at Sephira, unconscious on the ground. He took a step forward, then stopped, biting his lip. His fear of Terisas' wrath completely overruled his desire to help her. He wanted to, with all of his power, protect her, but the thoughts of what Terisas might do...  
  
Seeing her blood on the ground, he took another step back, placing a hand over his mouth to stifle a cry of anger towards himself, then turned and strode resolutely off, his wings rustling behind him. He had gone too far already, and, if Terisas knew, he would punish him, and punish him greatly.  
  
-------------------------  
  
"Unhappy, Viteros? Not so!"  
  
Akumu snapped her fingers. "Light!"  
  
Banks of lights activated, but it was aimed in crazed directions, making an odd patchwork of light and dark covering the halls. Akumu smiled.  
  
"Game not fair when I having all advantage, no? Genome, Devil, light and dark, Akumu and Khamrask! Die!"  
  
She leapt through the air, sword flashing, disappearing, flashing. Viteros waited until the last second and then spun and landed his heel on her stomach in a brutal back kick. Following through with his spin, he leapt forward into a tornado.  
  
Akumu dodged expertly, using the walls as platforms to leap off of, seemingly flying through the air.  
  
Viteros growled, "You're not getting away from me, Aeris!"  
  
Akumu laughed loudly. "Of all person you knowing chaos powers are, Viteros! Weapon work one, no two! You die!"  
  
"I know you're in there! Aeris!"  
  
Akumu smiled cruelly, but even that was hidden by her mask. She rushed forward, knife aimed straight at the Devil's throat, when suddenly he shouted, "Get back! Tara!"  
  
She froze. Eyes shut, she sank to the ground. The Khamrask withdrew.  
  
Kuja and Zidane hurried up. "What's going on?" asked Zidane, "what did you do to her?"  
  
After a while, Akumu's eyes opened again, and she slowly stood. "I.where.?"  
  
"Tara.let me talk to Aeris," said Viteros softly. "Please."  
  
Akumu nodded slowly, and her eyes shut again. When they opened, those stolen emerald eyes sparkled with that unique glow that only Aeris had. "Viteros?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You.your friends.they need to know what's happening.what happened to Tara."  
  
Viteros laughed bitterly. "Sadly, no friends. Just.allies in war. And Tara.do you really intend for them to go through that nightmare? You could just tell them!"  
  
"They need to know.they can't really understand unless they go through it!"  
  
"No! You can't just-"  
  
Viteros started forward, but it was too late. Akumu ran forward and gripped Zidane and Kuja tightly, and the three of them froze.  
  
Viteros glared down at the three, crumpled on the floor. "Aeris."  
  
Suddenly, as if by magic, Khamrask appeared. They circled the four, and Viteros glared. "No one is gonna win this fight!" He aimed his gun at Akumu's head. "Freeze or she dies!"  
  
The Khamrask wordlessly drew their blades.  
  
Viteros spun, bullets madly flying through the air. Without stopping the shooting, he leapt at a soldier and landed a scissors kick, fell to the ground, and spun upwards and righted himself, kicking more in the process.  
  
Suddenly, the Khamrask withdrew as quickly as they had come, disappearing into shadow. Before Devil Nine could even try to find out what was happening, another figure came into view.  
  
Viteros turned and glared. "Terisas."  
  
Terisas smiled and bowed low. "Ojikage, Devil Nine, I am so glad that the prodigal has returned to join us once more upon the field of battle. How many years has it been, Devil?"  
  
"Not enough. And I can see you haven't changed a bit."  
  
Terisas laughed mildly. "No, I haven't changed much outwardly, no. But the countless souls I have absorbed are growing in number, even as we speak. And, of course, you helped me so much in the process of your little quest. I daresay you've forgotten your inner strength, soul stealer."  
  
"Soul stealer? Soul stealer?" Viteros laughed aloud, the strange mixture of rage, fear, and dark amusement echoing in his voice. "You, Master Terisas, the creator of the ancient weapon Soulcage, the wielder of the sword Hellcaller, the man who cursed me to demonic possession, calls me a soul stealer? It would seem, Terisas, that you are slightly blind."  
  
"I wouldn't think so, my friend. How is it that you maintain your youth? You seem still at that tender age of when I infused you with demon powers, fifteen. But it's been.what.two hundred fifty years since the experiment?"  
  
Viteros took a step back. "I."  
  
"Never thought about it did you?" Terisas wore a broad smile, and when he did, Viteros felt chilled to the bone. "You're so young. Not even twenty years old! But you should be a very, very old man at the very least, probably dead! Were you just in denial again, my warrior, my soul thief?"  
  
"How are you so young?" growled Devil Nine, recovering. "I don't see how you can stay this way.you've got no souls to steal, trapped up here inside Outer Heaven. If you had gone planetside I would have known."  
  
"Indeed, you would have." Terisas walked a ways away, looking upwards. Then he slowly turned, arms out, gesturing grandly, as if to take in the entire world. "Don't you feel it, Viteros, when you kill? You feel that power, that link. That you're somehow connected to the person you've killed? No, the connection goes the other way! You are connected to me. You are part of me. Like a knife in my hand. You understand and fear me.I see it in your eyes. Those eyes filled with countless, stolen, mutilated souls!"  
  
Viteros sank to the floor, shaking. "I.me.Mako.?"  
  
Terisas laughed loudly, cruelty and malice both flashing into the air through his voice. "You remember the Mako experiments! Well, you and I both know that through those we were able to junction all the souls into you by making your body recognize them as Guardian Forces, while actually you just took them into you and devoured them. As much as I'd love to share the power of soul eating with you, I just had you transport the souls to me through your killing. That is how I've sustained myself, that is how you have sustained yourself, and that is how it will be, vampire. Soul stealer."  
  
Viteros knelt there, staring at the ground, shivering. "I'm.I'm not!"  
  
He leapt up, guns firing. But as the bullets streaked toward Terisas, they slowed in the air, coming to a complete stop a foot away. Terisas casually reached out and grabbed one, and held it in his hand. Then he said softly, as if just to himself, "This.what you shot at me."  
  
Suddenly, rage tore his face, and with a snarl Terisas hurled the bullet back.  
  
It seemed time slowed down. Viteros watched as the bullet seemed to glide through the air, slowly coming toward him. The bullet flew, and when it hit, it seemed that the black crystal that was his eye, Viteros thought to himself, "Is.is this where it ends?"  
  
He flew back, hitting the floor. Then the pain hit.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAGGGH!"  
  
He writhed on the floor, agony tearing through him. Devil Nine brought his hands to his face and then quickly pulled them away as he felt flame burning, burning.  
  
All he could see was fire, the all-consuming destroyer, burning away at the world. Then Terisas emerged from the flames. "Devil Nine," he said with a gesture of his hand, "Arise within this mortal shell and fulfill your destiny." Terisas swished his hand through the air and brought it up in a fist.  
  
Viteros screamed as the fire spread from his bleeding eye to cover his body. Fed by fresh body to consume, the fire burst into an inferno.  
  
Slowly, slowly, it died out, leaving something evil in its wake.  
  
The figure that stood up.Devil Nine's true form.  
  
-----------------------------  
  
Zidane blinked. Then as he and Kuja groggily got up, he stared around in wonder. "What's going on.?"  
  
Kuja whipped his head around, with surprise, curiosity, and anger suddenly flashing in his eyes. "Where's Viteros?"  
  
The thief gasped. "You're right!"  
  
They both leapt up, quickly scanning the dark halls. Pulling back on the helmets of the Angel soldiers, they tried to decide where to go. Zidane started in one direction, when suddenly Kuja grabbed his shoulder.  
  
"What?" asked Zidane.  
  
Kuja merely put a finger up to the faceless mask. "Quiet.do you hear.?"  
  
Weeping. Begging. A voice filled with terror, rage, desperation.  
  
Sephira's voice.  
  
There was a momentary silence.then the sickening rip of tearing flesh filled the air, accompanied by an agonized scream.  
  
"No!"  
  
Forgetting all caution, Kuja leapt up and ran through the darkness to the screaming, to the torment that beckoned through the forbidding black.  
  
Zidane hurriedly followed, and then they saw her, Sephira, half-knelt, half- laying, on the ground, hand on her shoulder. On one a magnificent angel wing was held, poised, but the other side blood spurted from a terrible wound. Soldiers were ringed all around.  
  
"Hey!" One of the soldiers stepped forward. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Zidane growled. "What did you.?"  
  
He whipped the gun to aim at the surprised soldier, who had no time to bring up his own gun before Zidane's bullets ripped through his chest. Before he saw the man die and fall, Zidane himself hurried away, dodging shots and aiming back.  
  
Kuja hurried for Sephira.  
  
He knelt by her, sharing her misery, sharing her pain. And all around them the fighting raged.  
  
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Note From Vit (NFV): Mwa ha ha!! To see Devil Nine's true form, you gotta read part 13!! HAHAHAHAAA!!! Wait, you don't care. Rats.  
  
Sephira: I think you're right... No one except my friend. (_) reviewed last chapter. I think it's my fault. They didn't like what I did in chapter ten. -_- 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Hey all! We got reviews, though only two. But still! ^^ Oh, and someone started a website and they wanted to host our story! ^^ ^___^ It's not up yet, but yah! They actually emailed me and asked. ^^ We feel so loved. ^^  
  
Anyway, after this chapter, we run out of our stored parts, so we need to write more, so it may take a little bit. But, don't worry, we'll be back. ^^ Just look in and we'll eventually put more up. Just don't leave us! ^^  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own anything having to do with FF. Square does. We own our own characters though. ^^  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- ~Chapter Thirteen~  
  
Sephira glanced up, her eyes dull. "Kuja...?" she murmured, reaching out and shutting her eyes again.  
  
Kuja knelt beside her, gathering her in his arms, holding her close, whispering, "Sephira, I am so sorry. Do not be angry with me. I did not mean to leave you. I never will again..."  
  
"Kuja...." she breathed again. She swallowed and Kuja saw tears in her eyes.  
  
"I am sorry. I will heal you once we get to Cid's airship. I promise. And I will not leave your side," he told her, kissing her forehead.  
  
Looking up at the fighting, Kuja gasped when a man broke free from Zidane and lunged for Kuja. Protecting Sephira with his body, Kuja held up one hand and shot a fireball at the soldier, glancing over and watching the man fall.  
  
Sephira grasped Kuja's hand and tried to sit up. Kuja placed an arm around her, not noticing as the white of his sleeves quickly stained crimson with blood.  
  
"We need Cid to get here soon. You are losing too much blood, my angel," Kuja informed her, placing a hand over the large wound on her back. She hissed in pain and arched back a little, gasping.  
  
"Kuja... Please..." she begged. Kuja removed his hand.  
  
"But we must stop the bleeding or you could die from blood loss," he protested.  
  
"No...I cannot...you cannot...do not place your hand there. I cannot stand the pain..." she murmured, wincing.  
  
"Angel... I am so sorry...." Kuja whispered again, bringing his mouth close to her ear and stroking the side of her head with his other hand.  
  
Hearing his pet name for her and his apologies, tears welled up in her eyes again and she turned a little, burying her face on Kuja's chest and weeping into him. Kuja held her as close as her wound would permit and murmured reassuring words to her.  
  
"Sephira, do not cry. We are here now. You will be all right. I will not let anything happen to you. I know it hurts, but why do you cry?"  
  
"I cannot say..." she sobbed, her voice muffled.  
  
Kuja blinked. "Why not?"  
  
"I...it is Angel..." she muttered, choking on her tears.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
Zidane spun around, hurried, shot, and dodged, all in an effort to defeat the soldiers that ringed around him, the seemingly paralyzed Kuja, and the still crying, bleeding Sephira. Viteros was nowhere to be seen.  
  
Then, suddenly, he felt cold, a dark feel that could not be adequately described with mere words. He just felt.cold.  
  
The soldiers, seeing him freeze, backed up and brought their guns to an attention position. Then Terisas walked in.  
  
Zidane had only seen the man once, in a picture in the Devil Agenda book. But he looked different now.a metal mask rimmed with rivets covered the left half of his face, curving to reveal the entirety of his mouth. The man wore a long, dark blue cloak, which seemed to somehow gently drift in a wind no one could feel. He had a worn breastplate and shin guards, and his left hand and arm were covered in metal. Circuitry shone and disappeared on him, coming to be seen with a dim green glow and then vanishing into nothingness.  
  
But somehow, Zidane knew who he was. Terisas. The enemy.  
  
"Bravo, bravo," he said, clapping slowly, sarcastically, each hit of his gloves together making a quiet thud that then echoed down the hallways. "You have done quite well. Just as I expected."  
  
Zidane brought his hands up to his mask and threw it away. "And I suppose you are Master Terisas."  
  
"Very good," replied the man, walking forward, ever closer. "Very good. I knew that my old prodigal Ojikage would never pick inferior allies. And I see that you are a primitive from Gaea, and yet you handle the MG-C6 with skill that is not to be expected by any stretch of imagination."  
  
Zidane looked down at the gun in his hands. "MG-C6? That's what this is called?" He threw it aside and drew his daggers. "I don't need it. I'll beat you anyway."  
  
Terisas laughed, his voice chilling and somehow painful to hear. "Indeed? You favor your knives over the Maschingewehr Caliber 6? It is quite superior over the old model, the Caliber 5, shown by its much better ammo capacity and accuracy, as well as-"  
  
"Are you here to tell me something important, or spout trivia?"  
  
The man smiled thinly. "I see there is no distracting you. To tell the truth, I am actually trying to relish this moment, for soon you will be reunited with your old friend, the Darkness, and have an encounter with Light. And you will be afraid."  
  
Zidane merely glared. "All my life I've believed that Light would never ally itself with evil. Good and evil can't exist together, and I know that they are opposites, and I know that they'll fight forever, and I know I'm on the right side! I'm gonna win, and you can't stop me."  
  
Terisas laughed again. "Your audacity and bravado are quite impressive, little Genome. But be assured, you'll fail. Devil Nine! Appear to me!"  
  
Zidane whirled and twisted in the forbidding dark, desperately looking for a sign of Viteros. Then he saw it.  
  
A halo. A pure white ring of light, framing a black, featureless face, like a pitch black nothing floating there instead of the sharp features and long hair of the one he knew to be Viteros, the real Devil Nine. Below there was gold, silver, ornate metals twisted and forged expertly into armor that covered his chest, shoulders, forearms, shins, and feet. Underneath there seemed to be cloth of the finest silks and linens. But there ended the glory, and began the evil.  
  
The left hand was strange, a normal hand but massive claws, hideously oversized for even the arm, let alone the hand, were in the place of the fingernails. It seemed that they had burst from there, because blood still oozed from where they and the fingers connected.  
  
The right hand was even worse. It was grossly oversized; even the arm was long, the end almost touching the ground. And an end was the only thing to call it. Instead of a hand there hung a huge, curved sickle blade, like a dread pendulum, shining with newness and sharpness.  
  
Zidane couldn't see where they connected, but it seemed that from Viteros' back were six long appendages that were high up and flicked in the air. They were like tentacles, but closer to just thick lines of white light that were apparently feathered as well. These glowing white things ended with slightly curved blades.  
  
Devil Nine walked forward, his feet hovering inches above the ground.  
  
When he spoke, it was like a nightmarish death rattle, penetrating the heart, flat, emotionless, and dead. "What is your wish, Master Terisas."  
  
"Who are these people, Devil Nine?" asked Terisas, clearly relishing Zidane's fear. Kuja looked up for a moment and then gripped Sephira tightly, who lay limp in his arms. But she looked up weakly, and the sadness and fear were evident in her eyes. She spoke almost silently, "Viteros, no."  
  
Viteros didn't respond, merely looked forward with his featureless, blank, flat black face. Terisas' bloodthirsty, sadistic smile was almost as terrible to see.  
  
"Destroy them."  
  
Wordlessly, Viteros floated forward, slowly lifting his arms. Zidane looked around, terrified. He nervously spoke, calling out to his friend.  
  
"Viteros! It's me, Zidane! Please!"  
  
Suddenly, it seemed as if an apparition, like a ghost, appeared before Zidane; it was Viteros, the Viteros he knew. Sorrowful, the phantom said quietly, "I'm sorry, Zidane."  
  
The monster swung its scythe arm, and as Zidane hurried to dodge a tentacle suddenly wrapped itself around his legs, and when he tried to stab it it felt like coiled steel. Another swished through the air and wrapped his arms securely to his body. The blade hung half a foot away from the Genome's face.  
  
All the while the main body hadn't moved. Still slow and terrifyingly majestic, Viteros slowly moved forward, closer and closer, until finally, it seemed like eternities later, he was right in front of his former friend. The dead, harsh voice spoke again. "Look at me."  
  
Trembling with fear, Zidane slowly looked up into the black nothingness. When he did, he saw a thousand nightmares, and it felt like an eternity and a second all at once. He quickly looked away, gasping for breath.  
  
The voice spoke again, this time the deadness was tinged with rage. "Look at me!"  
  
And once again, Zidane had to look up at his face and undergo the same suffering. It felt like epochs passed until finally, Terisas stepped forward.  
  
"That is enough, Devil Nine."  
  
The tentacles unwrapped, and Zidane heavily fell to the ground, where he lay, not trying to get up, a sheen of sweat covering him, his eyes unnaturally massive with terror, his breath ragged and labored. All his muscles were tense; he couldn't move if he had the presence of mind to do so.  
  
Viteros stood there, silent and menacing. Suddenly, Kuja stood up, hands in a triangle in front of him. He shouted, and a beam of icy blue light flashed and Viteros was blasted backwards.  
  
Temporarily incapacitated, the Devil stood there, unmoving. Terisas cried out in rage. "No!"  
  
Then a flash of memory hit Zidane, something he had read in the Devil Agenda. He stood up again, energy back only the way determination can, and he ran forward, knives flashing. "I'm gonna kill him!"  
  
"Zidane, no! What are you-" Kuja cried out, but it was too late.  
  
A white, feathery, bladed tentacle arced forward, and skewered Zidane through the chest. He hung there in the air, eyes blank with death, blood slowly dripping down. Then Kuja despaired, when he heard chanting behind him.  
  
He looked back to see Sephira, not strong enough to stand up but forcing herself to kneel, hands in front of her, struggling to even stay conscious. However, willpower prevailed, and when she coughed, "Revive."  
  
Zidane blinked. Then he looked up with a grin. He once again felt the surge of power tearing through his body, and he leapt backwards, landing perfectly despite the gaping hole in his torso.  
  
Acting on knowledge he had no idea he had, Zidane lifted his arm and shouted, "Gamma Energy!" A burst of green and white light appeared, and blasted down, covering him in light. When it faded, he was whole. Then he turned to the recovering Devil. "Delta Shield!" A tentacle flashed through the air, but landed ineffectually against an invisible barrier that glowed faintly where it was struck.  
  
"And now to finish the trinity," said Zidane, stepping forward. His left hand was in a fist before him, and his right hand was open, the arm straight behind him.  
  
"Alpha." a ball of energy formed in the Genome's right hand, red and glowing. "Omega." he swung the hand around and put it next to the left, which had done the same, glowing with white energy. Electricity crackled through the air.  
  
Zidane steeled himself, and aimed both at the Devil. A ray blasted between them, slamming Devil Nine back into the wall, pinned by a steadily glowing lance of red and white. ".aaahh.Holy Armageddon!"  
  
The energy balls grew and merged, the colors twisting and warping until, finally, the massive, spherical collection of power was fully white. Suddenly, a spinning helix of pure black coursed around and through the main ray, throwing Viteros further into the wall. Zidane closed his eyes, gathered his energy, and then thrust out with everything he had.  
  
The rays grew with incredible speed, and then exploded.  
  
After the white flash faded, Kuja dared look up. Zidane stood there, silent and still. Sephira was still with him. Terisas was nowhere to be seen.  
  
Viteros Ojikage, Devil Nine, lay dead. 


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Bwee. Part fourteen. Finally. ^^  
  
Anyway... Viteros wants his email up here, so..without further ado...His email is "viteros@hotmail.com". Hurrah! ^^  
  
Please read and rewiew. ^_~  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own FF9 or anything to do with it, it is property of Squaresoft. We own our own characters though. ^^  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------  
  
~Part Fourteen~  
  
"Viteros!"  
  
Sephira seemed to have returned to reality. She turned her now frightened, rage-filled eyes to Zidane. "What did you do!?"  
  
Zidane stood there, panting, eyes wide. Was he wrong about the Devil information? Could it be he had just killed the one person who really knew what was going on? The only friend that was near, the only one that could lead him back to Dagger?  
  
Kuja stood and scanned the area. "There is no one here.either our esteemed friend Terisas is dead, or he has left. And Zidane."  
  
Suddenly, the station rocked wildly, lights flickering. A voice came on suddenly, suddenly out of nowhere, and they heard "Outer Heaven-SKY is under attack...activating emergency lights and opening emergency windows.Outer Heaven-SKY is under attack...activating emergency lights and opening emergency windows."  
  
"Finally, some light," said Kuja, looking outwards. "Now we can actually see."  
  
A streak of metal flashed by the window and smashed into the station, and OH-SKY shook again, like an earthquake had hit in the sky.Kuja walked to the window and looked out when he suddenly shouted, "Everyone, get down!"  
  
Trusting completely, they leapt to the floor as a missile slammed into the wall, ripping open a massive hole. The air was quickly sucked out as the air pressure was equalizing, and everyone scrambled to grab hold of something stationary.  
  
Viteros' body, dead and limp, was pulled by the incredible force of air.Zidane tried to grab his corpse, but he was too late, and Devil Nine fell out, into the open nothing.  
  
"NO!"  
  
Zidane felt suddenly empty. Dead. Unbelieving. How could he be gone? Viteros Ojikage? Dead? Impossible.  
  
Was this the end? Without that man, there was no way to win, the plan was gone, and everyone was doomed.  
  
"Wait.what.what is that?"  
  
Zidane glumly turned at the sound of Sephira's tearful voice. Then his heart almost stopped.  
  
A hand gripped the edge. A dark, metal-clad hand.  
  
With full flair, the reckless grin back on his face, Viteros jumped up, laughing. He spread his arms wide and shouted, "Hey, I'm back! What.no hug?"  
  
"How." breathed Kuja, "How are you up here?"  
  
"You guys don't look so happy to see moi," Viteros said, his mad laughter echoing and turning with the breeze. "But I'm still here, nonetheless! All thanks to.my main man Cid! Get up here, Captain!"  
  
An airship slowly floated up into view, propellers churning the skies. It was long, metal, sturdy. It moved closer to the hole in the wall, and finally made contact, completely closing it off. The side of the airship opened, revealing a grizzled, older middle-aged man, with wild, short blonde hair, wearing pilot's goggles above his eyes, leather pilot's uniform, and a half-burnt cigarette smoldering in his mouth.  
  
"Everyone," said Viteros, still laughing, "Meet my old friend, Captain Cid Highwind!"  
  
Cid smiled and touched two fingers to his goggles. "How're you all doing?"  
  
-------------------------  
  
After they had all boarded, the airship had rushed off, streaking into the skies, disappearing, as far as the unfortunate soldiers aboard Outer Heaven- SKY could tell.  
  
Inside the ship, Zidane, Kuja, and Sephira looked around, exploring the wondrous machine. Zidane headed for the cockpit and then Sephira, with Kuja, wandered off into the back.  
  
Viteros stretched and slumped into a chair, looking out into the clouds as they streaked past. Cid walked over, laughing, and clapped him on the shoulder. "You've really gotten yourself into a real mess now, huh, kid? First there was that thing with the Mako Reactors, and then that thing with the SOLDIER program, and don't even make me bring up that episode at Balamb."  
  
Devil Nine looked up with a grin. "Yeah, I'm really in deep now.its fun, huh?"  
  
"Fun.right.you idiot kid!" Cid smacked Viteros on the back of the head. "What were you thinking? You almost got the Highwind scratched!"  
  
"He means, 'I really enjoyed that adventure,'" said a lady a bit younger than Cid, coming out from behind a control pad, wearing a lab coat and large glasses, with long brown hair.  
  
Viteros smiled and turned to her, rubbing the back of his head. "Ah, Shera! How are you?"  
  
Shera smiled back and then sighed as she looked at Cid, the kind of exasperated sigh a person would make if they know someone's flaws, know they won't ever change, but didn't really care. "Well, I'm still with Cid. We're having lots of trouble, but I think if we work with you, we'll get in more trouble, hmm?"  
  
Viteros laughed loudly. "Well, whatever happens, I'm glad I've got you're knowledge with us! With your intelligence, technical skill, and Cid's.um.daring.?"  
  
"Ha, ha, ha," said Cid sarcastically, "So so so funny. I think the words you're searchin' for his 'Captain Highwind, thank you so much for saving my ass again."  
  
"Hey, Cid," grinned Viteros, standing up and punching Cid lightly in the arm. "No swearing in front of the kids!"  
  
Zidane shook his head and sat down and pulled out the Devil Agenda. It had saved their lives back in Outer Heaven. It most likely had more information, more things that would help. He opened the book and was just about to read, when.  
  
"AAAAHH! What is this creature!?"  
  
Viteros jumped up. "Sephira!"  
  
Hurrying, frantic, Viteros and Zidane rushed to the back of the ship. Then they saw her, Sephira, with a massive yellow beast on top of her, with Kuja pulling frantically, feathers scattering.  
  
Zidane stood there staring. Viteros stood there, staring. Then they blinked. Then they blinked a few more times.  
  
Viteros slowly brought up his finger. "We.rushed back.panicking.just because.a chocobo is sitting on her?"  
  
"What the %)^(#(%! I see you've met Fortune." Cid walked in nonchalantly, and then snapped his fingers and said, "Fortune! Back to the pen!"  
  
"Hey, wait!"  
  
Viteros walked forward with a smile and stroked the chocobo's head. "Hey, I haven't seen you for ages, ever since that Crater episode! How are you, girl?"  
  
The bird kicked him and walked off. Devil Nine slowly got back to his feet holding his stomach and said with a weak grin, "No, she never did like me much.lost me a lot of money at the races, she did.liked that guy Strife a lot more." he smiled apologetically at Sephira. "What can I say."  
  
Zidane coughed and said, "What are we gonna do now? We're stuck here on the Highwind, we can't get back to OH-SKY, and right now its probably telling everyone else to be really careful, and we've got no idea where Terisas and Angel-Black are.what now?"  
  
"I need a new airship," said Viteros. "But I'd personally prefer a little while of resting here. Maybe I can clear up a few of your questions."  
  
Sephira moaned and lay there, curling up, her back in agony. No one had bandaged her wounds yet. "Kuja...." she mumbled. Kuja came forward and kneeled beside her. Looking up, his eyes fell on Cid.  
  
"Please, Cid, we need medical attention for her right away. I am too stripped of magic to help her at the moment, so, until I can, we need simple treatment for her." Kuja reached down and picked Sephira up in his arms and held her protectively.  
  
"Right this way....kid..." Cid said, sounding a little confused.  
  
"I am male..." Kuja said dryly, exasperation on his face.  
  
"Yes! Of course you are!" Cid cried, laughing a little nervously and leading them down the hallway to a room where they could treat Sephira.  
  
As they walked slowly down the hall, Kuja looked down at Sephira and smiled at her. She smiled, strained, back at him. Glancing back up at Cid, he followed the man into a small infirmary room, gazing around at all the cupboards and bandages.  
  
Shera entered and glanced at Sephira for a moment, smiling at her, then instructing Kuja to place her on the cot. Kuja obeyed, then looked over at Shera, as if to ask for the next instructions.  
  
Shera smiled at Kuja and glanced at Cid. "I'd like you to leave for a little bit, please. I need to take a look at her back," she said with a smile.  
  
Kuja arched an eyebrow. "Why do I have to leave?" he asked, looking at Sephira. Sephira smiled a little and shook her head.  
  
Shera coughed and smiled at Kuja's ignorance. "I'm going to have to look at her back, and that requires...removing...certain clothes..."  
  
Kuja blinked and smiled. "I shall leave." He backed away and ducked out of the room, taking Cid's sleeve and dragging him out.  
  
Sephira smiled and shook her head.  
  
-------------------------------  
  
Kuja wandered alone through the hallway, up towards the cockpit of the Highwind. Entering, he was greeted by Viteros.  
  
"Hey! Kuja! How's Sephira? ....I really need to get Fortune trained better..." he said, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. "Sorry about that..."  
  
"Do not worry. She should be fine," Kuja replied. He smiled at Viteros, then sighed and meandered off again, restless.  
  
"Good!" Vit called after him. He shook his head with a roll of his eyes, turning and striding over to where Zidane stood, at the railing, gazing out at the ground below.  
  
Zidane looked up and sighed. "Now what? I'm confused. We need to do something. But...what's Terisas' motive? What is he up to?" He sighed again. "This is really bugging me. He's up to something, and I don't know what it is..."  
  
Viteros smirked and shook his head. "You'll never know what Terisas is up to, you--"  
  
"Do you know?" Zidane interrupted, rather sharply. He swung his head to look at Viteros.  
  
Viteros shook his head. "Sorry, I don't think I know. I have theories, but no real evidence."  
  
Zidane's shoulders fell and he sighed and bent over, resting his arms on the railing, his head on his arms. He stared out over the green plains below once more, thoughts rushing through his head. His tail flicked irritably, one of his feet tapped a little in anger. Everything about him, from his expression, to his stance, suggested frustration, which was odd to see in Zidane, a normally vibrant being.  
  
Viteros shook his head again and rested a hand on Zidane's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. When we find out what's going on, we find out. It's nothing to lose sleep over now."  
  
"How do you know though? Hm? How do you really know? For all we know, he's out there, doing something that, by the end of the day, will result in world destruction," Zidane mumbled, miffed.  
  
Viteros laughed. "Believe me, if he were doing something like that, we would have heard of it by now. Terisas is not one to keep his plans entirely to himself. Though, then again...he doesn't seem to have told anyone of his current project, does he...?"  
  
Zidane blew a bit of hair out of his eyes, frowning. "Exactly... I wish life were more simple."  
  
-------------------------------  
  
Kuja, wandering through the Highwind, found himself in the Chocobo stable. Blinking, he smiled a little as Fortune came forward, "warking" madly, as though it were overjoyed at the company.  
  
"Hello, gorgeous... Do they keep you here too much, all on your own? Poor caged bird..." he whispered to it, running a hand over it's head, ruffling the feathers on it's crown. The bird, almost cat-like, nudged Kuja's hand, urging the young man to continue petting it.  
  
"You are an odd bird, did you know?" Kuja said, laughing a little, extending both arms and almost wrapping his arms around Fortune's neck, petting it vigorously. Kuja was rewarded with a pleased "wark". Kuja giggled a little and pulled away from the bird.  
  
"You are very friendly." The bird answered by nudging it's head under Kuja's chin.  
  
Smiling, Kuja sat down, the bird rushing over and kneeling beside him, like a faithful dog. It nuzzled him with it's head, happily "warking".  
  
Kuja pet it absently with one hand, his other hand supporting his chin as he thought. "You do not worry about things, such as that which plagues us, do you? You are too innocent...I wish I could be that naive. I might feel more free. Or, at least, much less burdened." He sighed and pulled his chin from his hand and rested his head on the bird, moving onto his side, curling up, almost in a fetal position.  
  
"I wish life were more simple," he said softly, shutting his eyes, one of his hands twined in Fortune's feathers, as though the bird were something he could clutch, like a doll, that would make all his woes disappear.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
Sephira, alone in the infirmary, was also curled up, on a cot, under some blankets, her knees drawn to herself, in a fetal position. Shera had left her minutes before, with a command to sleep.  
  
But sleep was the last thing that came to her mind. Thoughts ran through her head too quickly for her to slow them enough for her to drift off.  
  
Blinking, she raised a hand and wiped away a couple of tears. She sniffled a little, her eyes filling up. Swallowing, she tried to calm herself before she started crying so much that she wouldn't be able to stop.  
  
But life was too hard. She just couldn't do it.  
  
Everything leading up to this point in her life, everything that had happened until now, almost all of it was filled with painful memories. Practically none of it was pleasant. She could remember moments with Kuja that had been happier, and those wonderful recent memories of Angel, who seemed so sweet, and caring, but, what about what Terisas had said?  
  
Maybe that was why she felt she had no place to live now. Maybe that was why she didn't feel like continuing on.  
  
She curled up further, sobbing. It hurt. What that man had said made her feel worthless, like she was simply just something. Not a living being, just an object, to be used. People didn't deserve to be treated like that, so why should she? Had she done something horribly wrong in her life, which she needed to make up for? Or did the world just decide to turn on her?  
  
Sitting up, she sighed, trying to stop her tears. The pain in her back and hands didn't help; it only made her weep more.  
  
Shera had bandaged her, so, all she wore now were basically bandages, which wrapped around her from back to front. Swallowing, she turned her head a little, to look at her back, and, disgusted, saw that the blood was still flowing, seeping through the bandages.  
  
Sobbing again, she tried to think of something other than death. Life was just to hard for her, and she couldn't see why she should go on.  
  
"Life is not simple..." she whispered to herself, her voice filled with tears. "Not at all..."  
  
------------------------  
  
Viteros stared downwards at the rushing trees, and yawned, stretching his arms high above his head. Then he looked back to Zidane, leaning relaxed with his back and elbows against the railing.  
  
"You know," he said, with a smile, "It's been a while since I've had any quiet. Any good quiet and rest, anyway. No one has since this whole cursed adventure started, eh?"  
  
Zidane was still gloomy. "So what's your point?"  
  
"My point is that we should take the chance to relax and just enjoy the wind and our own thoughts for a while. Don't let Terisas bother you, ok?"  
  
The other merely breathed out and looked downwards again. "It's really hard."  
  
Viteros sighed and looked upwards at the clouds. "Take a look. Amazing, isn't it? They're so simple.just blue and white, but they rush by me, and I can't help but watch and be amazed. Do you know how all of that came into existence, Zidane?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Let me tell you." Viteros leaned back further, until he was leaning out over the railing, holding himself there with his legs. "Some people say it was a powerful, omnipotent God that created everything that we see. I don't know if that's true. Would a real, worthy God let his creations suffer like this? Maybe he's a sadistic, evil God that likes to see our pain? Does he set all this up, is our existence an elaborate show for some sick, twisted being that just by an unfortunate twist of fate controls us? Some say he's actually very loving, and does this for our own good, and we just can't comprehend the cosmic meaning of it all. But I think even a pawn wants to know why the king sends him to die.  
  
"Some people believe that this all just came into being out of chaos, somehow setting itself up exactly the way it is. I'm not sure if I believe that either. Isn't all this just too perfect to just be by coincidence?  
  
"And others, like Terisas, believe it is a merge of all these things. There was chaos, yes, but then out of that came an all-powerful God to order and rule it all. And Terisas wants to be such a being."  
  
Zidane pulled a coin from his pocket, slowly throwing it up and catching it. "So he just wants power?"  
  
"Exactly. He wants to have all power, be undefeatable. So he can get away with whatever he wants. Anyone who would disagree would die. That is his dream, his greatest goal, what he wants above all else. To have absolute rule."  
  
Looking downwards, Zidane took in a deep, hissing breath. Then in a sudden fit of rage, he threw the coin downwards, and it bounced on the deck. They both watched as it slowly bounced, bounced again, and then slowly rolled, swaying and pitching with the ship.  
  
"Just for himself, he's willing to kidnap my friends, control you, take Sephira prisoner, and kill innocent people! Why?!" Zidane shouted in frustration, at the sky, tears of rage beginning to well up in his eyes, "Why does a person like this even exist? If there's an all-powerful, all- knowing God up there, why do you let this happen!? Why!?"  
  
Trembling with anger, he sank down, the tears falling freely, pattering quietly on the deck.  
  
The coin rolled again, and rolled off the side, disappearing into the trees. 


	15. Noteish Goodness

Hey all. This is just a bit of a note. ^^;;;  
  
Okay, I'm mostly certain that you've noticed something wrong with the past four chapters, which is my bad (Sephira). I wanted to change it from what it was before, and I changed it quickly and it got messed up. -_-   
  
So, I am changing it AGAIN. It needs to be changed, because I am very, very unhappy with it.   
  
Sooooo... Hopefully, I'll finish it by Christmas, and make the changes. We shall see. I'm much happier with what I am doing now, than what it was before.   
  
*bows repeatedly* Gomenasai, gomenesai everyone. I am very sorry for all of this. Hopefully, you won't dislike us after this, and hopefully you'll like this story more once I fix it.   
  
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas. ^_^  
  
~Viteros and Sephira~  
  
  
(Little update! Chapter 10 is fixed! ^o^ Go and read, if you please. ^__^)  
  
(Next update! Chapter 11 is fixded! ^o^ Read, read! ^^) 


	16. Note again, unfortunately

Hey all, again. Another note, yes.   
  
Viteros has disappeared, so... I guess we're on hiatus again. I fixed everything, but I don't know if he likes it, so I can't do anything until he comes back. @_@   
  
I hopes you don't hate us, but...someday we will get our act together, and if people still review and love us, then we promise to try with all of our might never to do this again.   
  
And, heh, I will make a website, too, soon. I need either an HTML-inclined friend, or Dreamweaver, or HTML skills to do that. ^^;;  
  
So...yeah. We love you all, and hope you love us too. ^_^  
  
~Sephira~ 


	17. Salutations from Ojikage!

Salutations, from Ojikage!  
Sorry about my absence, folks, but I've been very busy, and thanks for all you guys still hangin' around!  
Well, we'll get right back on the job, as soon as I can contact Sephira.and trust me, things are gonna get really, really, seriously, outrageously, ridiculously good.  
See ya later! 


	18. Chapter Fifteen

Hey, hey, hey. *huggles every single reader* Sorry it took sooooo long! ;_; We'll try to be better, now. ;_;  
  
This part only features Vit's writing, because I'm kind of busy with evil school. @_@  
  
Thanks all for being so cool about this. ^^ And, remember to go and look back at the revised chapters. ^^  
  
Disclaimer: Blah, blah. We don't own FF9, already! XD  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------  
  
~Chapter 15~  
  
A few hours of flying and waiting passed by. Everyone was on edge, emotions and adrenalin running high, but they tried to hide it.  
  
Zidane stayed on the observation deck, watching the trees and clouds rush past. Nature had no reason to worry, the animals and plants just lived their lives, they never had to think about war or death or good or evil.  
  
He stood there for a long time, thinking. Why was life so difficult? Was there a god? Why was there good and evil? What was the point of it all?  
  
He finally walked off and went back inside the Highwind. He wanted to know more about the Angel Project. Looking for Viteros, Zidane scoured most of the ship, and then he heard a dull thump.thump.thump.and followed it to the back, where he found Devil Nine.  
  
He was standing in front of a man-shaped target, kicking it hard. Zidane watched for a few minutes, watching Viteros kick, punch, jump, watching his dark eyes target an exact point and strike precisely, and Zidane saw the look on his face, that look of pure rage channeled into the muscles, and he saw the pure hate and unbridled evil swimming within.  
  
"Such is the curse of the Devil Project," grunted Viteros, landing two quick backfists on the target's head, spinning around, and then dropping and kicking out the ankle.  
  
"What?"  
  
Viteros grinned and did three side kicks with his right leg. "You were watching my eyes, Zidane. There is evil in there. My heart and soul is infused with darkness and hate and spite and rage and envy and all of the evil that humanity is capable of."  
  
Zidane looked away for a moment. Then he said, "But.you always seem so carefree."  
  
"I laugh to try to-to hide and escape from this fire in me," replied the Devil, still attacking. "You have no idea what its like. I'm always, always tempted to just give into this force, and let go, and hate and kill everyone, and fall into the pre-Devil state we call Apostasy. You saw all of Terisas' warriors? Those are the Apostates. They hope to one day be able to evolve into a Devil."  
  
"All of them? Why not Angels?"  
  
Viteros glared at the target and suddenly jumped up and spun in the air, landing his heel against the target's head, and then fell back down and punched it hard in the chest, grabbed it's head and drove his knee into its face, and then jumped up again and hit the head one last time with a front kick, knocking its head off.  
  
He dropped and looked up with a grin. "Not again."  
  
He looked back over at Zidane and stood up, mopping his forehead. "They think they want to be Angels, Zidane. But everyone knows that deep inside what they're doing is evil. It's a sad thing, that they're like that, that they deny to themselves that what they're doing is just wrong. But that's what humans are like. I wonder if they're even worth saving sometimes."  
  
Viteros moved his hair back to wipe the sweat off more of his face, and Zidane saw where his left eye had been; now it was just a bloody socket.  
  
Devil Nine saw the look on Zidane's face and quickly moved the hair back. "I should probably invest in an eye patch, eh?" he laughed gamely, trying to be his old self. "I'm a bit of an eyesore."  
  
Zidane allowed himself a small smile. Then he was reminded of his question from before.  
  
"Why aren't you dead?"  
  
"Part of the Devil gene," said Viteros, now looking around in boxes and shelves. "You killed the Devil, not me. But he'll be back-you can't kill a Devil just through physical measures. You need holy power for that. I came back to life after I hit the Highwind."  
  
"Then why isn't your eye back?"  
  
"That's a good question," said Viteros, looking around. "Aha!" He lifted up a small object. It was a metal square, and in the middle it was adorned with a small yellow glass dome.  
  
"I don't have an answer for that," replied Devil Nine, putting the square on the ground. "I really have no clue why. It just is."  
  
He flipped a small switch on the side of the cube, and it lit up, and slowly rays of light activated, flashing above the cube, until finally the coalesced into a flickering, blinking semblance of a person.  
  
Viteros kept working with the cube, and as he turned a dial, the person kept switching appearances. Finally, it turned into a slight man about Viteros' build. Then he turned another knob, and as he did the man switched stances and movements.  
  
"Shaolin.kenpo.jiu-jitsu.capoeira.hate fighting that one.here we go. jeet kune do, let's do it. The style that is not a style."  
  
Viteros stood up in front of the hologram while Zidane watched with interest. He bowed to the man, and the man bowed back, and then stepped back, fists up in a defensive stance. Viteros made the first move, quickly swinging his right foot forward and then hooking it back, catching his opponent's ankle and making him fall, but the man caught himself with his hands and, supporting himself on one hand, spun on the ground and kicked in a circle. Viteros jumped up and tried to kick him in the head, but he stood up and punched Viteros in the foot. The Devil groaned and rubbed his foot. "Now I know why they call it way of the intercepting fist."  
  
Zidane was somewhat amused with this interesting show, but this was no time to watch a martial arts expo. He flipped open the Devil Agenda book and started reading.  
  
~"We have met with considerable success with Devil Nine's learning capability. We had thought that maybe the recklessness and possible dementia (must speak to Durav about those pills, X^t-19B) he would have difficulty understanding new things; however, he picks them up very easily. In the performance tests he performs remarkably well whenever he's interested, however, when the situation is otherwise his performance is very poor.  
  
"Our cybernetic enhancements are going like clockwork, without a hitch. The reinforced skeleton, mechanical optics components, and hidden weaponry are most excellent. For a complete list, see page 236, the schematics page."~  
  
Intrigued, Zidane flipped until he found 236. The page was blue, except for white lines used to make a picture, kind of like Viteros split apart. He wondered what it was for for a few moments, and then remembered that they were actually building parts of him, and therefore this must have been exactly how they knew where and how to put things in. Remarkably brutal and inhumane, Zidane thought.  
  
The weaponry list alone went on and on. Zidane looked and saw Viteros, and thought about how his friend, so light and relaxed, could have such a darkness behind him, and even inside him.  
  
The schematics were terrible. Devil Nine was full of hidden blades, poisonous needles, guns, flames, specialized bullets, all instruments of death. The final part was the worst of all, a chemical that he could release into his bloodstream at will, which would react with the plasma in his blood, sending a noxious gas out of his pores. The chemical would then send a specialized signal to his mechanical components, most specifically a powerful bomb hardwired into his heart and brain so that he could never remove them.  
  
Even from birth, Viteros was destined to kill, and be killed.  
  
Zidane looked up as Devil Nine leapt and spun and then kicked out and hit his target's chest and then gave a brutal punch to the throat. A fire burned in his eyes, the dull rage that called him, that ordered him, that forced him to fight, to kill. In life, Viteros' existence centered around death.  
  
Devil Nine leapt and hit his opponent in the head. The hologram fell to the ground and hit his neck with a crack.  
  
Zidane would have stopped there, but he saw Viteros quickly, mechanically, raise his foot, and the powerful, crushing blow ground the head into the dust.  
  
"Such power," Zidane thought, "such killing rage would have to hide behind that façade of happiness and recklessness.if he didn't have that, he would be a monster."  
  
Viteros switched off his machine, and wiped away the sweat. Then he turned to Zidane, the familiar smile back on his face. "Well.having a good read? Would you recommend that book to anyone else? Do you think the author sends any significant message?"  
  
The joke was lost on the Genome. "Huh?"  
  
Viteros laughed carelessly and waved his hand in the air. "Different world, different thoughts. If you did book reports for a while, you'd get it."  
  
"Book reports?"  
  
Viteros laughed more and walked over to a corner and pulled out a small plastic bag. Inside were small, yellow discs. "Hey, banana chips, remember? I love these things."  
  
He walked over and flopped next to Zidane and began to munch. "Ahh, this is the life, isn't it? Train hard, eat well.well, eat something you like, anyway.heh. Oh come on Zidane, why so glum?"  
  
Zidane grinned slightly and looked down. But when he looked back up, he was sober. "I don't know. I'm usually kinda like you. I don't take stuff too seriously. But.ever since all this started.it's been like one long nightmare. One terrible thing after another. All for what? To beat Terisas. But why should we have to do this anyway? I'm just.bored. Annoyed. This isn't fun. You can't say you enjoy this."  
  
Zidane looked over at Viteros, and he shrugged. "Yeah, this kind of sucks. But what can ya do but fight back? I want to win, no matter what. Even if we lose, even if Terisas blows my spine against the far wall and I die, I'm gonna die fighting, I'm gonna die yelling and shooting in his face. That's what I'm fighting for. For some victory. Maybe. A victory of some kind."  
  
Zidane helped himself to some chips. "What do you mean, a 'victory of some kind'?"  
  
Viteros scowled and looked upwards. "Because, odds are, that we'll all get killed and Terisas will end up controlling the planet."  
  
The other looked at him in shock. "You can't mean that."  
  
"I can and do," said Viteros slowly standing up to activate his sparring machine again. "Most likely we'll all just be slaughtered in one way or another. Sephira will get shot by soldiers, Kuja will get ripped apart by Angel, you'll get thrown out of the airship, and I'll be converted permanently to Devil form."  
  
"You say that like you know it will happen."  
  
Viteros had a dark look in his eyes. "But I do." 


	19. Chapter Sixteen FINALLY

Oh…gosh… O_O How long hath we been on hiatus? Jeeze… We love everyone! *showers people with candies and chocolates that have "Forgive Us! T_T" written all over them*

Urm…So…Let's go! ^-^

**Luverly Disclaimer: We dun own the roxx0rz FF9! Squenix does! XD**

_~Chapter 16~_

Looking up as someone knocked on her door, Sephira whimpered a little in pain, sitting up. "Come in…" she said softly, brushing some hair from her face. Watching as the door slowly opened, emitting Kuja, she sighed, lying back down. 

"Sephira, love, how are you feeling at the moment?" he asked lightly, sitting beside her, appearing casual.

"…I am…better," she replied vaguely. "Kuja, why are you here? Should you not be with the others, planning…Or, anything?" Averting her gaze from him, she raised her hand, biting lightly at the tip of her index finger. 

He frowned a little, pulling her hand from her. "Do not do that. It ruins your skin," he muttered. She laughed a little at his vanity, smiling slightly. "It does. I do not lie…" Kuja murmured, arching a delicate eyebrow. 

She laughed out loud, wincing a little at the pain in her back, saying, "I do not doubt you, Kuja."

"Then why do you laugh?" he asked, glaring mockingly at her. 

She winked. "Because you are a vain narcissist," she retorted, sticking out her tongue. Brushing her hair from her face again, she turned over on her back, smiling. Folding her hands over her midriff, she looked up at Kuja once more. "So…why are you here, might I ask?"

"I came to see how you were doing," he replied simply. Reaching out and running his hand through some of her hair, he smiled. "You are healing, correct?"

"Of course, Kuja. No need to worry." Taking his hand, she took it from her locks, lightly tickling his palm, and he giggled a little. 

"Hum… Sephira, what happened while you were there? How did you get all these injuries?" he asked, tracing the bandages on her hands delicately with a slender finger. "I know you were shot in the back. But, what happened here?"

"…A run in with Viteros' friend," she said, her voice laced with scorn. 

"Hm… Really, now?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. "What did he have to say?"

Practically spitting in anger, she snarled, "He's such an ignorant bastard, and the only things that came from his mouth were foul lies."

"I do not doubt that," Kuja murmured, looking thoughtful. Taking a breath, he frowned a little. "What exactly did he say?"

"Some ramblings about a Crystal…He thinks I am an embodiment of it, or something as such. He is a raving lunatic. He kept asking whether I was a normal genome…" Seeing Kuja's uncertain expression, her eyes narrowed. "Kuja, I AM a normal genome…"

Biting his lip, he shook his head, the murmured, "Yes…you are…"

"You are lying," she said, he voice flat. 

Looking up into her eyes, he shook his head. "I am telling the truth. You are a normal genome. There is nothing special about you."

She thought on this for a moment, then searched his eyes. "…Are you sure…?"

He nodded quickly, his hair falling in his eyes. Reaching out and gripping her face in his slender hands, he pulled them together until their noses were practically touching. "I am sure." 

She blinked at the closeness, then blushed a little, before turning from him, wrenching her face from his cool hands. Averting her eyes, she sighed. "Kuja, do not lie to me. I do not like it when you lie…"

"I am not!" he cried, glaring up at her. 

"Really now?" she asked, folding her shaking hands together. Keeping her eyes from Kuja, who appeared in a rage, she couldn't keep her hands still, and wrapped them around her elbows, arms folded over her chest. 

"Yes!" he shouted, standing, his face a little red with anger. Clenching his fists, he glared at her. "Why do you not believe me?" Pacing a couple times, he let out a snarl. 

Cringing a little – she had never seen him in such fury – she pressed once more. "I do not know if I can believe you. Why are you so upset then? If you were not lying, I would not think you would be in a towering rage."

Halting abruptly, he whirled around, grabbing her by the shoulders, even though it caused her great pain, and he shook her roughly. "Do not question me!" he practically screamed, his nails digging into her skin.

"Kuja…" Sephira whimpered, trying to pull away. 

"Stop it!" Kuja screeched, pulling away and, to Sephira's surprise, backhanding her over the face quite hard, knocking her down onto the floor. 

Propping herself up on one elbow, her other hand holding her cheek, her entire body shaking, she stared up at Kuja, tears filling her eyes, the palm on her face moving over her mouth, trembling, and she let out a dry sob.

Kuja's gaze on her changed instantly from anger to bewilderment. Taking a step back, he fled from the room, fabric flowing behind him, slamming the door behind him. Before he had gotten a couple feet from the door, he fell back against the wall, sliding to its base, his quaking hands covering his face, and he pulled his knees to his chest, curling up. 

What had come over him?

Viteros stumbled over, wiping his forehead on a white cloth.  "Hey, what's up?"  He fell against the wall and sighed long and hard with his eyes closed.  He grinned and looked over.

Kuja gave him a long, long sideways glance and shrugged.  He got up and walked away.

"Man………"  

The door slowly slid open and Viteros looked in.  Sephira lay on the floor, her face hidden by her hair.  Wordlessly, Viteros strode over to look down at her.  He looked for what seemed to him a very long time.

"Hey, I've got an idea," he said.  "How about _you take the bed, and _I'll_ take the floor."_

There was no response.

Viteros crouched down and shook her shoulder gently.  "Come on…"  There was still no response, so he sighed and leaned against the wall and looked out the window.  

"Look outside," he said softly.  "Look at the clouds in the perfect sky…beautiful, isn't it?  It's incredible how wrapped up we get in ourselves and our little problems, and then you look up at the sky and just think, the sky doesn't worry about any of those things.  It just…exists, and it is still just as beautiful, and just as magnificent.  I think it's because it's so simple.  It has no worries, like we do, about fighting and eating and surviving.  It has its bad times and its good times, but in the end, it's always there, and it's always itself.  You know," he said, walking over and slowly picking up Sephira, being meticulously careful not to violate her or hurt her, "we really should learn like that.  From the sky." He set her down slowly on the bed.  "But…you know, we have so much more to think about than the sky does.  We can learn from it, but we'll never be just like it."

Viteros walked to the wall and sat down on the floor.  "Where I come from, we have ideas of simplifying our lives until it becomes almost nothing.  The same idea for our minds.  But in the end, I think, that's just an ideal.  All we can do is try to strive for perfection until we die, and then we'll just be as good as we could get."

The door opened again, and Zidane stood in the doorway.  "We've got trouble.  Cid says we have to move now, so we meet in the briefing room soon."  His eyes flicked over to Sephira, then Viteros, who shook his head.  Zidane nodded and left.

Viteros slowly stood, and walked to the doorway.  "Sephira…we all have to try our hardest.  Maybe we won't succeed.  Maybe we'll fail.  But no one can ever say we didn't try our hardest to be the best we can be.  Heaven is reserved for the ones who try.  Hell for the ones who don't.  Believe me.  I know.  I'll…see you later."

He walked slowly out of the room, but before the last swirl of his cloak left, he heard a voice. 

"Viteros…" said Sephira, getting up.  "Wait.  I am coming."  

---------------------

"It's time," Viteros declared, "for our new campaign to be set forth."

Everyone was gathered at Cid's meeting table, and they sat there watching as Viteros stood and paced, talking.

"It's time for us to completely destroy Terisas, to strike where he can't defend himself and where it will cripple him indefinitely.  However, if I know Terisas, it'll take a lot more than a kick in the shins to take him out.  And there lies the problem.

"We have already noticed that his airship is unpleasantly difficult to attack directly, in fact, we are lucky to have escaped with our lives, let alone with our esteemed Sephira here.  We know that there are at least eight Outer Heaven in operation currently, and that they are all self-sufficient, and the destruction of one would most likely be nothing but a minor headache for our enemy.  Therefore, what should we attack?"

There was silence, as everyone thought.  And then, quietly, someone said, "…Angel."

Viteros looked around.  "Who said that?"

"I did," said Sephira, sitting quietly, head down, hands meekly on the table.  "We need to kill him, then our victory is assured."

"Why?" asked Zidane.

"Terisas depends on him," muttered Sephira.  "Did you notice that at every major attack and defense that occurred, Angel-Black was there?  And he watched over me while I was held prisoner…I know that Angel is key to Terisas' plans."

Kuja nodded.  "I wouldn't doubt it.  He truly is the one we need to destroy.  However, the pressing question is then presented to us.  _How?_  He is powerful, we know, and will be difficult to defeat.  I would even go so far as to say impossible."

Viteros grinned.  "Nothing is impossible.  Observe."

He slowly walked from the head of the table down to where Sephira was sitting.  "Your hand, please."

Sephira curiously extended her hand.  "What are you…ouch!"

Viteros slowly lifted up the droplet of blood he had taken and held it shining in the light, white glinting through the crimson.  "This blood is saturated with Angel Gene.  This comes as no shock to Sephira, as it would seem Angel filled her in while she was incarcerated."

Kuja half jumped out of his seat, while Zidane was simply still with surprise.  "How do you know that-"

"Angel told me," interrupted Viteros shortly.  "Now, please, observe…"

He pricked his own finger and took the blood over to two small clear dishes and put them on.  Then he put the now bloody dishes onto a glowing white square, projecting a hologram into the air.  They all watched intently as Viteros mixed the Devil blood with the Angel blood.

An image flickered to life in the projector, a red liquid that pulsed and swirled with the movements of the tiny particles inside.  White, faintly glowing little cells slowly floated around, making an odd sound like bells in the far distance.  Zidane was about to ask what this was all about when…

The blood darkened, into a deep, deep red, almost black.  Then the Devil gene appeared.  

They had a black core, with a dim violet aura that slowly pulsated around them.  As they moved, the Devil cells left a faint blue streak behind them, briefly illuminating the darkness they scattered.  They slowly swirled around in the blood until an Angel cell drifted too close…

It was over in moments.    

The Devil cells slowly drifted apart, leaving nothing but a faint cloud of plasma behind them where the Angel had once been.  

"As you may observe," said Viteros matter-of-factly, "the Devil gene has quite a dramatic effect on its holier cousin.  Put simply, the Devil gene utterly eradicates any Angel gene around, and vice-versa.  In this time, Devil triumphed simply because there was more of my blood."

Kuja shrugged.  "That's very nice, really, but what is the point?"

Viteros scratched his head.  "Well, you see, that is the problem.  I know that this information is critical, I remember Terisas saying something about this a long time ago, but I can't quite place it.  So, if any of you think of anything, it would be very nice if you would-"

_Boom._

A muffled explosion rocked the ship.  Cid snarled, "What the hell!?" and ran to the bridge, stumbling as the deck shifted wildly from side to side.__

"Well, everyone, it looks like there's some fun headed our way," said Viteros humorlessly as he paced over to the window.  Outside, there was nothing visible but cloud.  Zidane joined him at the window, squinting for a view of anything, when suddenly…

A cannon appeared.

"Holy-"

They both scarcely had time to jump away as the massive thirty-six inch cannon as it ripped a hole into the hull.  Viteros clawed into the ground with his metal hands, struggling to stay in as the air pressure equalized.  Zidane was about to be sucked out when they heard a steady chanting,

_"Gavran o shilta Aeros davranis aldi __massa__ goju Gaius taeguk-salchin do baravas in!"_  A sudden flash was in front of the hole, and a seal with the symbols for earth and sky swirled in front, and suddenly they could stand without struggling.

Sephira, having finished her spell, collapsed.  

Zidane rushed over.  "Sephira!"  He propped up her head and checked for her pulse and breath, as Kuja helped as well.  Kuja looked over his shoulder and shouted, "Viteros!  What are you doing!?"

Devil Nine merely stood there and stared.

Kuja yelled again, "Devil!  What the hell are you doing!?"

Suddenly Viteros' face twisted into a scowl.  "Shadow magic…the power of Vashcoriladus…"

"Huh?"  Zidane straightened.  "What are you talking about?"

"I'll explain later," said Viteros, running to the bridge.  "I'm gonna join Cid.  See you all in a few minutes."


	20. Chapter 17 We love you?

Sephira: :{ We love you all? ;_;

Disclaimer: We don't own FF9. Square Enix does. Love and praise them. :D

~Chapter 17~

Viteros joined Cid on the bridge and looked out into the clouds.  "So…what's up?"

"What's up?  What's _up_!?  You stupid kid!  We're bein' bombed, that's what's up!"  Cid frantically jammed various buttons and triggers, and fired his missiles at the attackers.  "Who are these guys anyway?  Friends of yours?"

Viteros smiled ironically.  "You could say that.  We're currently probably being attacked by the skyship _Destiny_, either that or something else Terisas threw at us."

"Whatever it is, it's pummeling the crap out of my hull.  I'm gonna engage afterburners, so if you don't want your spiky ass hurt, you run back and tell your freak show buddies to hang onto something quick.  We engage in thirty seconds!"

Devil Nine nodded and hurried back, where he shouted, "Everyone, grab hold!  And hold on tight!" seconds before afterburners activated.

With an ear-ripping boom, the _Highwind_ took off into the sky, leaving _Destiny_ far behind.  Nevertheless, Terisas' skyship launched a few powerful energy beams that lanced out and struck a glancing blow on the left propeller rack.

Cid's voice came over the intercom.  "We've been hit!  All right, boys and girls, we're gonna make a crash landing as soon as…we're landing now!"

"Um…Cid?  Exactly where are we now?" asked Zidane, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"We're over the ocean to the south of the unknown continent!  Hang on!"

Suddenly, vertigo hit as the airship began to hurtle downwards at incredible speeds, and they all lifted slightly as gravity was temporarily displaced.  As everyone stared downward at the floor as if they could somehow see the ocean below, they could only hear the steadily rising shout of Viteros screaming,

"HOOOOOOLY FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

In retrospect, considering how dramatic their fall had been, the landing was kind of disappointing.  They splashed down with a mere 'splish', thanks to Cid rotating the propellers to give them some hovering lift as they fell.  

After they landed, Viteros smiled and wiped his forehead.  "Dang, that was the freakiest thing I've ever gone through…well, not really…"

Sephira smiled as well and said sweetly, "Viteros?  Come here, please…"

"Huh?  Okay…" Viteros walked over, curious.

POW.

"Aaaagh!" Viteros fell, rubbing his red cheek, with tears in his eyes.  "I thought we stopped doing that a couple of chapters back…" 

"This is entirely your fault, you…you…stupid head!" shouted Sephira, for lack of a better word.  "If you hadn't spent so much time going on and on about nothing…"

"Hey, listen, we needed to know everything that-"

"Shut up!" Cid ran into the room, spear in hand.  "The enemies are right above us, and we're either gonna get blown up or boarded, so I _suggest_ everyone gets their $!@# stuff together!"

There was silence.

"!$@#?" asked Zidane.  "What's $!#@?"

"Hey, that's true, man," said Viteros.  "What exactly _does_ $!#@ mean?  Is it even a real word?"

"Shut the !$@# up you spoony bard," groaned Cid, "just get ready!"

As if to prove Cid's point, they all heard sudden _thumps_ as soldiers dropped onto the top of the _Highwind_.  Cid flexed his arms and lifted his spear slowly, tracking the noise as it slowly crept along the hull.  

Abruptly, he stopped and thrust his spear up through the roof.

They heard a scream of pain, and a clatter as the soldier fell.  Then they heard the telltale whine as the MGs started up…

"Get down!" Cid shouted, as they all jumped to the ground and tried to roll under whatever was near.  Half a second later hundreds of tiny holes appeared in the roof as Terisas' warriors opened fire, peppering the floor with bullets.  

Viteros growled and rolled back out, gun-arm pointed upwards, tracking where the shots were coming from.  He opened fire, tearing more holes in the roof, until he saw-and the rest saw-that the roof couldn't hold any longer…

With a wrenching screech of metal the ceiling gave way, ripping apart and falling inwards, bringing the soldiers down with it.  Before everything had fallen Zidane was already in action, jumping upwards and slashing through an enemy's throat.

The next few seconds were a frenzied melee, with yells and gunshots until the invaders were dead.  Then Kuja looked upwards and shouted, "Look out!"

More soldiers were dropping down, some not waiting until they fell to open fire.  Kuja put his hands together, chanted quickly, and let a small red orb fly upwards.  As soon as it neared the soldiers; the orb suddenly grew, filling with crimson lightning.  Even while this was going on the others wasted no time, with Sephira conjuring up another orb, a blue one that floated up and covered the gap with a thin blue field that crackled with electricity.  

"Anything that touches that will be instantly killed," she said, looking up.  "And our esteemed friend's warriors seem to have inferred that as well…"

Terisas' warriors were no longer dropping down, and any that were desperately tried to swim through the air, trying to dodge the field, but to no avail.  Their pitiful shrieks of pain accompanied the disgusting stink of burning ozone.

Viteros grinned.  "Well, that should-"

The _Highwind_ was flipped over into the water, making all of them fall onto the blue field.  Luckily, the electrical effect only affected the outside.

"What the hell is-" Cid half-shouted, getting up as another piece of the hull was blown apart.  A large contingent of Terisas' warriors rushed inwards, aiming their weapons at their disoriented enemies, followed quickly by-

"Angel," sneered Viteros as he brought himself slowly up to his feet.  "And I thought the situation couldn't get any more unpleasant…"

Angel-Black gave a thin-lipped smile, not even glancing at Sephira.  "Your hospitality is noted, Devil-Nine.  Unfortunately, I don't really have time for pleasantries.  I………._could_ stand here for a little while and gloat about how you people only focused on the sky attackers, giving absolutely _no_ thought about the possibility of a U-boat, and call you narrow-minded primitives, but I really don't have the time.  Now………..the situation will get much more unpleasant should you resist.  You, Devil Nine, will come with me now.  The others can go about their business."

Viteros spat on the ground.  Zidane noticed it was tinged with blood.  "If you don't get out of here, I'll kill you."

"No, I don't think you will," replied Angel, this time with a broad grin.  "Open fire."

The others quickly tried to find cover, but to no avail.  They all felt themselves hit, and waited for death, but nothing happened…

Sephira glared down at her wounds.  "Darts!  You…" Then unconsciousness gripped her, and soon hit the others.

As she dropped to the floor, the real world flashing in and out of her view, Sephira seemed to continue falling. A dream? 

            Plummeting through so many layers of dreams, those she had lived, those she had never experienced, some simply fantasy, others figments of her imagination so unreal, that she didn't know what she had been thinking when those had sprung to her mind. She had fought demons, lived through horrors that she shouldn't have known. 

            As she fell, she caught glimpses of things that had been; many times she saw the hand that had struck her so many times, until she couldn't stop tears from springing to her eyes. There was that gnarled hand that had hit her, beat her, abused her frail body. Then there was that slender pale hand, from the androgynous mage who she had loved for so long. But, then, just like everyone else she had ever known, he had resorted to violence. Was she simply just nothing? A puppet that lived to be mistreated?

            Slipping further and further into her subconscious, Sephira choked back a sob. 

            Finding herself suddenly standing, lost in darkness, she wiped tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, glancing around.   
            "Where am I?" she asked, though she knew there was no one to reply. 

            "Where do you think?" a soft voice answered from behind her. 

            Sephira, yelping and spinning around, caught one glimpse of the figure behind her and fell backwards in a rather undignified manner on her bottom. Staring up at herself, she gulped. 

            "Do not worry," her replica said reassuringly, collapsing to her knees in front of Sephira, who scuttled back a little bit. The other reached out, coming forward, until she was able to comfortably place a hand on Sephira's cheek.

            "Who are you?" the real mage asked, shaking.

            The other smiled. "Simply you. I am your heart, your soul. Do you know of the Crystal?"

            "Yes…"

            "Then, I suppose I am a manifestation of that."

            Sephira blinked. "The Crystal? Then it is true?"

            The Crystal Sephira gave a pitying little glance, then pulled forward, pressing a hand to Sephira's heart. "Do not worry, because, only by your consent can someone take this from you."

            "Excuse me?" she asked, flinching a little from the other's touch. Reaching a hand to remove the one from her chest, the Crystal Sephira took the hand and twined them together. Wrapping her arm around Sephira's back, she gently pulled the other forward, until they were so close their noses were touching, and Sephira gasped a little.

            "Only by your consent can you give your heart away. No one can take it from you," the Crystal Sephira whispered. 

            "What does that have to do with…?"

            "He cannot use you without your consent…"

            Finally it clicked, and Sephira blinked. "No… Terisas said all he needed was the spell. I can do nothing once he gets that, and once he does, he will stop me."

            "No. He may be able to get that spell to release me from you, but, he cannot fully use it. So, do not worry. There is a light, a hope." Wrapping her arms around Sephira, the other held her comfortingly, resting her head on Sephira's shoulder. "No matter how far into the darkness you delve, there is still a chance."

            "I..." 

            "There is. Trust me." 

            There was a moment of utter silence, then abruptly the dream shattered, like a million shards of glass, and Sephira was thrown backwards, down.

            Collapsing on a floor of cold hard metal, Sephira glanced up, a sheet of hair falling over her eyes and spilling over her shoulders. Seeing a tiny child huddled in the corner of this room she was in, she crawled over the child, kneeling beside her. 

            "Excuse me, I—" Gasping as the little girl looked up, Sephira threw herself back. Once again, it was she, this time, a young girl. This had been….before Kuja, she knew. A time she didn't remember. Why? 

            Realizing the child hadn't looked up because of her, but because the door to the room had opened, she stifled a cry as Garland stormed into the room, slamming the door shut behind him, a murderous glint in his eyes. Seeing the child, he grabbed the young girl by the hair, dragging her away from the wall and tossing her across the room. Sephira gasped, covering her mouth with her hands, watching in horror as Garland proceeded to release his rage by beating the girl. It was far worse than anything she had ever received from Garland when she had been with Kuja. How could anyone harm a living creature in such a way? 

            As Garland left, satisfied that the child was beaten senseless, Sephira fell back against the wall, crying for the little girl she had been. Was this why she didn't remember? Because it had just been too terrible? Seeing that tiny broken body laying motionless on the ground, she couldn't help but weep. 

            And the scene before her dissolved, as Sephira cried for the child.

            Glancing up, she surveyed this next act in the drama that was her life. There stood a slightly older version of herself, when she had been…fifteen? Maybe. Standing, Sephira went to look at what the other was doing, as her back was turned. 

            Gazing over the younger Sephira's shoulder, she gasped. Taking a step back, unable to watch, she compulsively, grabbed her wrist, tracing a finger over those scars that would forever be there. Watching the blood slowly drip to the floor from the other girl, who had the knife to her wrist, Sephira stumbled back, spinning around and slamming her fists into the wall. 

            "I want out! Please! No more! Please, I beg of you!" she screeched. And the dream shattered around her, like all the others had. 

            Where she materialized now, she did not know, though it seemed familiar. Taking in a breath at the realization, she shook her head. Why here? This was Angel-Black's room.

            Suddenly a pair of hands gripped her shoulders from behind, swinging her around. Angel stood there.

            "You can see me?" Sephira questioned. None of the other people of her dreams, besides the Crystal Sephira, had been able to see her.

            Angel scoffed, smirking rather…un-Angel-like. As she wondered what it was, she found herself shoved backwards and thrown to the bed. Crying out, she struggled for a moment as Angel moved over her. 

            _Sephira… _It was that voice, the one of the person so like herself. The one she had first met first in this nightmare.

            _It's time to— _

            Angel wrenched her wrists over her head, pinning them there with one hand.

            _-- wake—_

Reaching down and claiming her mouth with his, his free hand roamed, Sephira trying to scream.

            _--up._     

            Sephira sat up quickly with a gasp, even though being rendered unconscious by a dart normally called for a slow time waking. Breathing roughly, she swallowed, blinking away tears, reaching a hand up to wipe a cold sweat from her face. As she did, she noticed the scars on her wrists looked fresh. It unnerved her, to see those wounds as though they had just been inflicted. Another thing she noted was a hand mark bruise around her arm, just above her wrist, where the Angel in her dream had gripped her. 

What had that been? No normal dream…nightmare…to be sure.

Zidane awoke hours later, his head throbbing.  The others were getting up as well.  

"Where's Viteros?"

Onboard the _Destiny_, Terisas smiled as he lounged on his throne, a massive piece of pure obsidian carved into horrifying demons and monsters, as well as various symbols of darkness gleaned from the Shadow Bible.

Angel-Black stood at his side, arms folded.  He was utterly silent as he watch the newest………and one of the oldest………creations of Terisas slowly approach.

A door at the far end of the room slid open, and a shadowy figure slowly paced through.  It walked on the long, dark red carpet, passing the massive pillars, passing through the foreboding darkness.

Finally the figure came into the light just before Terisas' throne, and stood there a moment, allowing his master to appraise his creation.

The man stood there, tall, strong, with a certainly youthful face.  Though both hands were metal-clad, the left arm was covered in metal and machines, and stretched half a foot longer than the right arm, making his appearance asymmetrical and slightly grotesque.  There was a single wing, made out of metal, on the right side.  The once scraggly, unkempt hair was now shiny and combed into long, sleek curtains, and one almost covered an eye patch on the right eye.  Around the neck hung a large, iron cross.

The strangely handsome yet terrible creation stood there for a moment, and then bowed low, kneeling, and touched a metal fist to the ground.  "Master Terisas."

Terisas smiled broadly.  A smile of triumph.

"Arise," he said grandly, his voice echoing off the walls of the vast room.  "Arise, Devil Nine."


	21. Chapter 18: Anyone? watches tumbleweeds ...

Sephira: I think our long, long absence has lost us any of the fans we used to have, Vit...

Vit: No! They are here!

*tumbleweeds, silence*

Both: ….

And, Soul Chewer, we haven't forgotten about you. @_@ You will come and make a cameo in the story eventually. ^^

Disclaimer: We don't own FF9, Squeenix does. Love them, praise them. 3 them. ^_^

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~Chapter 18~

Devil Nine smiled and slowly stood, facing his master, Lord Terisas.  He cricked his neck and shifted his shoulders, wondering at the new, powerful dark being he had become, finally coming into his destiny.

"Fate…how interesting…one can never predict…what will happen…what…what…the future holds…destiny…

"Master Terisas," he said, slowly, carefully pronouncing each and every syllable, "My Lord, what is your will?"

Terisas stood slowly, regally, his long cloak shifting with the movements, and hanging low, framing and covering his powerful figure.  "I wish to know what is going through your mind at this time."

"Only…darkness…"  Viteros looked down at his metal hand and smiled, a sadistic smile with no mirth or kindness.  "The torture, this agony…it's just like the old days…"  He turned and took in the entire hall.  "This old place hasn't changed a bit.  And my old…colleagues…?"

Terisas shrugged.  "Everything as you left it.  Akumu in particular is very ready to resume service under you as second in command of the Khamrask."

"But should I take over Khamrask…what will happen to poor Angel-Black here?"

Angel's lip twitched.  He had been loyal for so long, and now his master was putting _this_ prodigal in charge of the Khamrask, the destructive, powerful elite strike force of Terisas' army?

Terisas turned his head and looked at his other lieutenant.  "He will be…diverted to other matters.  I have important work for him to take care of."

"Oh.  Not that it matters."  Viteros lifted his left arm, clad and intertwined in metal slowly up into the air, watching it glint in the dim light.  "It's good to be home."

Suddenly he made a fist and drew his arm down swiftly, making an audible _swish_ through the air.  "Soon enough, it will all be over."

Stalking from the room, Angel gave a bitter snarl, swinging around as Viteros left, glaring at the other with magenta eyes filled with malice. Shaking in rage, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself as Viteros disappeared from view, the last thing rounding the corner his long black cloak.

            Angel pursed his lips, calming himself enough to stop shaking. That… monster…had just taken his place. He had so simply dethroned the seraph from his position, it was laughable. And they would laugh. The indestructible Angel, cast aside for the almighty Viteros, who had only just returned. One would think that the Devil would have to at least serve as a _lieutenant_ first, but, _no_, he had practically stolen Angel's mastery. 

            Sighing and turning as he heard footsteps behind him, he glanced at his master, who shook his head at Angel-Black.

            "Angel, I am surprised at you…" Terisas mused, smiling slightly. "An emotional outburst… How…undignified, for a heartless demon like yourself." He gave Angel a smirk, as Angel battled with himself, trying to decide whether he was hurt beyond words, or just enraged further. 

            "Master, I—"

            Throwing Angel against the wall, Terisas gave a wild grin as he slid Angel's feet from the floor, his metal hand gripping the young man's neck as the seraph gasped and struggled, his fingers clawing at Terisas' restraining grip. His wings, crushed behind him, screamed for some room, Angel voicing that scream, though it was strangled and strained. Managing a couple of broken words: "M-master…plea…se…"

            "I do not like defiance from you, pet. You were born to obey, not to rebel. You are _mine_ and I will not tolerate further disobedience from you, any longer. Anger me again, and I will be forced into…drastic actions."

            Releasing Angel and hurling him to the floor, he watched in glee as the youth turned on his side, his knees pulled up slightly, his hands grasping at his throbbing throat as his mouth hung open to allow him air. One hand leaving his neck to brush away the hair that fell over his eyes, shading his pale face, he glared at Terisas, still breathing rapidly. 

            Nudging Angel with his boot, Terisas smiled. "Well, Angel-Black? Shall you give up your pride and obey me, or will you force me to destroy you with my bare hands? Will you give up your queen for the greater good of your king?" His smile widening as he searched Angel's face, he provided his own answer. "Check."

            "Check, O master," Angel spat out, propping himself up on one elbow, still massaging his aching neck.

            "Good boy."

            Whirling around, Terisas left Angel on the ground, calling out his orders as he receded down the hall. "Follow Viteros and aid him. I want the souls of Lindblum. Do whatever it takes."

            Angel watched the man leave, glaring at the back of his hated master. Out of sheer frustration and anger, he slammed his fist on the ground, hard enough to send shocks of pain through his arm. Yelping and pouting like a child, he gave a growl of rage and threw himself to his feet, running to follow in Viteros' footsteps, no longer a general, simply a subordinate.

---------------------

Zidane scowled down at map after map.  They were back on board the _Highwind_, searching for their lost friend.

"We have searched everywhere," complained Kuja, also staring at the maps.  "This is completely impossible."

"Yet we must continue searching," put in Sephira, leaning up against a side window, staring wistfully into the clouds.  "He is critical to our efforts."

There was silence for a few minutes as they kept looking.  Suddenly, Cid burst in from the cockpit.

"Strap yourselves in kids, we're moving!"

"What?"  Zidane looked up in surprise.  "Why?"

"There's a big ruckus going on at the Black Mage Village," replied Cid, already on his way back to the cockpit.  "Big stuff.  Real big problems.  I tell ya, I think this is probably where our buddy is."

"Then what are we waiting for!?  Let's go!"

-------------------

Viteros laughed as he floated above the Black Mage Village, surrounded by a crackling blue orb of killing electricity.  "This is what life is all about.  How could I ask for more?"

He hung there, suspended with his single wing outstretched, like some kind of maimed fallen angel.  He slowly lowered himself to the ground, and pointed at a building chosen at random.  It exploded into an inferno, scattering burning debris everywhere, making more buildings bloom into burning flowers.

"This is so perfect!  Death and destruction everywhere!  I wish I could have some more interesting assignment than killing these toys, though…"

A little black mage, smaller than the rest, quickly rounded the corner, one hand clutching his hat and the other a magic staff.

"Freeze right there!"

Viteros languidly turned his gaze toward the newcomer.  "Ha!  I don't believe it!  Little Vivi, how have you been?"

Vivi clenched both hands hard on the staff.  "None of your business.  What have you done to Zidane?!"

"Nothing that's worth telling you."

Vivi focused, the dark magical power of his heritage focusing into the staff.  "You had better tell me, or I'll end you now, evil!"

"Geez, this is boring.  Don't you have anything more interesting to do than spout cliché hero lines at me?"  Viteros laughed loudly and spun, his cloak spreading outwards like a black mist.  "Don't tell me you can't enjoy this, this incredible rondo of death?  It's beautiful!  It's a shame that you black mages don't bleed that bright crimson like humans, though."

Suddenly, silver flashed in Devil Nine's hand, then flashed through the air towards Vivi.  The blades cut through the air like lightning.  One hit the top of the little mage's hat, and sent it flying backwards, two more went just to the sides of his face.  Vivi started summoning a fire spell and shouted, "You think that fazes me?"

Viteros looked down at his clawed fingers and said, "Not really, but this might."

His left wrist flicked the air, and another knife flew, this time embedding itself in one of the black mage's hands.  Vivi gasped in pain, cutting short the spell.

Devil Nine flew upwards lazily, and floated above his prey.  "Please…don't you have anything more interesting to do?  I'll kill you in a minute!"   

-----------------------

Zidane stared out the window at the burning wreckage of the Black Mage Village. 

"This…is impossible…how many Khamrask are out there!?"

Cid stared down at a panel, his face grim.  "As far as we can tell, kid…only one.  Right there."

"That…that can't be him…"

There, exactly level with the _Highwind_, floated a dark figure, surrounded by a black orb crackling with purple lightning.  There was a man in there, throwing flames and lightning at random…could that be…?

Slowly an idea formed in his mind.  "Let me out."

Cid's head whipped to stare at him.  "Kid, you're nuts!  Going out there is suicidal!  Look at those mages!"

A handful of mages rushed at the floating figure, and were struck down by a languid glance in their direction that somehow made them burst into flame.

"I don't care," said Zidane, gritting his teeth.  "Just open the door and let me go."

"No," said Kuja lowly, stepping forward.  "I don't think…" but Sephira cut him off.

"He's right," she said quietly, vaguely.  "It's the only way.  Let Zidane out of here.  Let him go out there."

"Kid…" Cid shook his head, exasperated.  "All right, fine!  If you all want to die, it's none of my business.  But…I can't let you guys alone.  I'll come with you.  Hang on a second, everyone get ready!  But no @%$# mess ups, got it!?"

---------------------

Moments later, Sephira, Zidane, and Kuja stood at the slowly opening bay door of the _Highwind_ as it drew level with the Khamrask.  

Cid's voice came filtered in over the intercom.  "_All right, boys and girls, get ready!  I'm gonna launch now, and that'll be your opening to go!  I'll follow in a sec!"_

Suddenly the entire airship shook as Cid fired a powerful volley from the _Highwind_'s missile launchers.  The red and white rockets shot forward with supersonic speed, smashing into the floating dark bubble with a massive explosion that rocked even the trees.

"Jump!" shouted Kuja, as he demonstrated.

The three of them leapt off and as they fell Sephira frantically chanted, "Angel wings, hide us from the wrath of the world…heavenly forces, defend us from the earthly…"

As Kuja and Zidane tumbled, she stood straight up, her hand held in front of her, fingers pointed upwards.  Tears streamed out of her eyes as the speed of her posture forced her down and down, caused by the incredible rapidity of their fall, threatening to cut her spell short…

Finally she finished as she shouted out into the sky, "Strength of heaven, shield us now!"

Their fall suddenly halted, and they floated in the sky.  Slowly, gracefully, an enormous pair of angel wings, covered in feathers of purest white, covered them and then drifted down to the ground, where they stood on shaky legs on the earth.  The feathers glimmered and melted into nothing.

Zidane looked up.  "Where's Cid?"

--------------------------

On the _Highwind_, Cid yelled in pain as a powerful electric jolt slammed into the airship and channeled through the console into his arm.  "Damn!  This is too much!   I gotta get down there!  Shera!  Get in here, woman!"

Shera ran into the room but somehow looked calm as ever.  "Cid?"

"You gotta take control of the ship!  Wait, don't touch the machines!"

Shera, relaxed as a stone, took some rubber gloves out of a pocket of her lab coat and quietly slipped them on.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me!  Don't waste any more time, take control!  See you in a bit, and don't you even dent my ship, got that?!"

Shera nodded.  "Oh, do you want any tea before you leave?"

"No thanks…but, uh, some bags, if you got 'em…"

Shera smiled and threw him a few tea bags.

"Thanks, Shera!  See you in a few!"

Cid ran down to the hangar doors and practically kicked the door open and stood there, wind whipping his hair.  "Ah ha!  Let's go!"

He leapt, and then triggered his parachute.  He floated to the ground, albeit less gracefully than the others…

As soon as he landed, the others helped him disentangle from the parachute and Zidane fetched his spear.  "Okay, kids, let's do this!"

----------------------

Viteros looked out into the forest and saw the group charging and laughed lowly.  "Oh well…let's begin!"


End file.
